Resident Evil: Outbreak
by Trainalf
Summary: As a city falls into chaos, 8 people are determined to escape. Rated for violence and language. Currently on Hiatus due to technical difficulties.
1. Outbreak I

I originally started this on Deviant art in March of 2011 , having finished some months ago. I am only just moving it here now. Perhaps it is simply because it was my first work I did and finished, so I feel a certain attachment to it. Or maybe I still think there are things I can learn from reviews. While I no longer have time to redo the entire thing, I at least am taking care to go back and fix some of my earliest errors. But I still acknowledge the characterization may be faulty; It was and still is my worst field.

X

September 24th, 1998. J's Bar 8:26 P.M

It was an average night at J's bar. Rock music played in the background as patrons relaxed after a hard days work. The air was warm compared to the cold outside. In the left corner of the bar sat Mark Wilkins. The Vietnam veteran took another bite of his salad while keeping a ear on a news report on the bar's small television.

To say it had been a busy day had been a understatement-Two shifts at the Raccoon Mall. It hadn't helped that half the other guards hadn't shown. A bug or flu or something was going around and half the company was sick. Though the extra pay would be nice it meant Mark wouldn't be able to go with his wife and son on a out-of-state trip they had been planning. Mark glanced up at the clock; they should've left half a hour ago. Since it had been a late night, he had decided to drag Bob along and grab a bite. Mark cast a worried glance at his friend and colleague, Bob still had his head down of the bar surface. He'd probably caught the same thing as the others. There was a shriek and the sound of class breaking behind him.

"Eww." Mark looked back to the see the waitress, Cindy, looking at a rat scurrying away. The caught his gaze and her face flushed slightly. She quickly began picking up the broken glass. Mark finished his salad and thanked the cook, Will, and looked around to see how many other patrons were here; there were seven other patrons. No one stood out really, save for a cop who was still in uniform drinking. Disgraceful, thought Mark. He cast another look at Bob.

"Aren't you eating anything?" He asked. "Hey, Bob." He shook his shoulder. "Where's your mind at?"

"What?" Bob looked up weakly. Everyone was distracted as the front door opened. Normally patrons would cast a glance and turn back to their business, but everyone couldn't help but stare. This new patron had a rough look to him: his clothes and hair was dirty, he stumbled though the door, and his head was hung down in an unusual angle. He looked just like most punks and crooks Mark had seen.

"Who is this guy?" Asked Mark. There was a thud as Bob slid off his stool onto the floor. "Damn it!" Mark swore. He knelt beside his friend; he was unconscious. "Bob?" Mark shook Bob's shoulder. The was a sudden outbreak of screaming,

"Will!" Cindy dropped the tray she was carrying. Mark looked up. Will was stumbling away from the door, blood spilled onto the wood floor from a wound in his neck. Cindy rushed to his side, while the cop had drawn his gun and pointed it at the bar door.

"Holy shit!" Another patron, a subway employee, cried in a high-pitched voice and scrambled away from the front window. Two people were banging on the window; ones face was torn up in several places and smeared blood against the window. Meanwhile someone began pounding furiously on the bar door. What the hell was going on? There was another scream and a girl came running from the bathrooms. She had on a green shirt and a backpack.

"S-something tried to grab me." She screamed again when she noticed the scene out here was no better.

"Bob! Bob get up!" Mark tried unsuccessfully to wake his friend. Whatever was going on, they couldn't stick around.

"Excuse me I'm a doctor, let me have a look." Mark looked up. Another man was kneeling beside Will. He calmly requested a few items.

"Are you nuts!" The subway worker exclaimed. "They're about to get in, we need to get out of here!"

"I can take em." The cop said confidently. The doctor had managed to rap a piece of cloth around Will's neck and stop the bleeding. "Get away from the door!" He pointed his handgun at the shaking door. The cop's order went ignored by the cannibal.

"We can't risk moving him." The doctor explained. "We need to move him to a hospital." There was a thud on the window as another man had flung himself against it, splattering blood and leaving a large crack. They were going to get in soon.

"Bob, get up soldier!" Mark shook his friend again.

"Cindy," Will said weakly, pushing the doctor away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "There's a gun behind the counter. Take it, go upstairs and get Jack and call for help."

"But Will," Cindy protested, "we can't just leave-

"Hurry up and go!" He interrupted her. There was a crash as one of the men got his arm through the window. He groped around wildly, as if trying to grab someone.

"Get back!" The cop ordered, pointing his gun at the man. "I said get back!" He squeezed the trigger and fired of a round. It hit the man's hand and blew it to pieces. He let out a strange moan and fell back.

"You have to leave, now!" Will said again.

"You heard him, let's go!" The subway employee motioned frantically towards the door at the back. Cindy looked regretfully at Will but nodded, her eyes wet. She took the key and walked to the door and unlocked it.

"C'mon lets move!" The cop ushered everyone through the door. He looked over at Mark. "What are you doing, hurry up!"

" I've got to help my friend." Mark said adamantly. "Go on, I'll catch up." The cop looked hesitantly at the two of them but turned around and went through the door. Mark shook his friend again. "Come on Bob get up."

"Mark?" Bob said weakly at last.

"Thank god." Mark said. "Get up Bob, we have to-" The front door broke and fell in from the constant hammering. Three man stormed in and fell on top of Will. He let out a scream that was quickly silenced as they bit into his throat. They were eating him alive.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mark exclaimed. He reached into his holster and pulled out his own gun, a 92 Berretta, and took aim. "Get off of him!" Mark ordered. When they didn't respond Mark took aim on the one on the far left and fired. The bullet flew out and the slide went back, chambering another round. The bullet hit the man's head and blew it apart, splattering flesh everywhere. He gave a strange moan and rolled over, he didn't move again. One of the other two men looked up at Bob and Mark. His eyes were clouded and bleak, empty in a way that sent a chill down Mark's spine. He stood up and took a step forward. Mark fired twice, both bullets hit the man in the chest, but he did not react.

He kept lumbering towards them. Mark fired three more shots, and when the man didn't respond Mark aimed high. The bullet tore through the man's right eye and he fell sideways to the floor and did not get up.

The door in the back burst open and the cop came back in, gun drawn. The last man looked towards him and slowly stumbled towards him. The cop didn't miss a beat; he fired three shots that hit him square in the chest. "Aim for the head!" Mark called. A .45 round tore the mans jaw out and he too fell forward onto the floor. The cop looked at the three bodies and Wills half-eaten corpse.

"What the hell happened?" He demanded.

"I'll explain later, go watch the others!" Mark responded as he holstered his gun and helped Bob up. The cop nodded and went back.

"What's happening?" Bob asked, confused, as Mark shouldered him to the door.

"I don't know, but whatever it is-"

"Mark!" Bob said urgently, looking over his shoulder. Mark turned around and stared in shock. Will was sitting up. It was impossible; no one could have survived those injuries. He turned to them and Mark felt his blood run cold. Will's eyes had become clouded and blank just like the men who had attacked him. He stood up and turned to them. Mark frantically reached to un-holster his gun. Will began running at them, arms outstretched. At the last second Mark brought his pistol up and fired. At such close range some bits of flesh splattered on to their uniforms as Will fell at their feet.

"God damn it!" Mark swore. What was going on? Nowhere, not even Vietnam, had he witnessed such events. He pushed open the door and kicked it closed with his foot before beginning to drag Bob up the flight of stairs. The cop appeared on the landing above.

"Now what happened?" He demanded.

"I don't know." Mark replied.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know what happened!" Mark snapped back. He passed the cop and led Bob up the second flight of stairs. The cop ran past him to the second floor. Mark followed him down a hallway into the staff room. The other patrons were all gathered here, but the first thing Mark noticed was a body lying on the ground. Cindy was staring at it in a mix of shock and sadness. That must be the bar owner, Mark thought.

"What happened down there?" The cop ordered as he sat down on the couch. Mark ran through what had happened. There was a shocked gasp from most of them when he told them about the cannibals and Will getting back up.

"They ate him?" Cindy sounded horrified.

"It's just like the rumors…" The girl in the green shirt said.

"What rumors?" Asked another women, she had blond hair and a red outfit on.

"Umbrella…" The girl muttered. There was a still silence and everyone looked around at each other. Umbrella was a pharmaceutical company that the cities economy was based primarily upon. But some rumors had circulated about two months ago from the now-disbanded S.T.A.R.S unit. According to them Umbrella was involved in bio-weapons. Other rumors had included monsters and zombie like creatures. But surely they were just Rumors?

X

J's Bar Staff Room 8:45 P.M

Without much an initiative, the group had decided to stay hold up in the staff room, at least till help arrived. Mark glanced around at the people assembled. Leaning against the only desk in the room was a man in a plumbers suit with dark hair. He hadn't said a word the whole time, though Mark had seen him pull out a pocketknife and examine it briefly. Sitting in the chair for the desk was the blond women with the red suit. While Mark didn't know anything about her, the scowl on her face portrayed her as someone you don't want to deal or argue with. Situated in the middle of the room was the cop, who up to this point had kept a running commentary of possible excuses or guarantees help would come. Mark felt he was too cocky or optimistic; those men down there had eaten Will, under most circumstances that would warrant a more serious response.

Then there was the subway employee. Straightly put, he was scared, fidgeting on the couch and looking around as if expecting someone to attack him. Next to him was the girl in the green shirt. She clutched a backpack tightly to her chest. The poor girl was probably scared out of her wits. Then there was Cindy. Mark was surprised, she was much stronger then she looked. Despite witnessing two of her colleagues demise, she didn't break down. Though secretly Mark doubted she could defend herself if needed, she probably had no idea how the gun on the coffee table worked. Then finally there was a man in a gray suit. Mark didn't really know anything about him; aside that he was a doctor. That reminded him.

"Excuse me, sir?" Mark addressed the man. He looked up.

"Yes?"

"Did you say you were a doctor? I think my friend here is ill." He motioned to Bob, whom was lying against the wall with his head slumped down. Several of the other patrons had been staring at him. Out of worry or fear Mark wasn't sure.

"Of course, I'll see what I can do." He bent down to examine Bob. Meanwhile Mark pulled out his gun to check it, eight rounds shot, seven left. He ejected the clip and pulled the one spare clip he kept on his belt out and slid it in. You always kept your gun fully loaded in a combat situation. The doctor stood up.

"I'm…not sure what's wrong with him." He admitted at last. "The symptoms don't point to anything in particular, but he should be fine as long as we get him into medical care within the next few hours." At least it there was some good news.

"Ok, thank you Dr…?"

"George," he replied, "George Hamilton."

"Thank you George." Mark shook his hand. George returned to where he had been and Mark sat down beside Bob.

"Don't worry Bob," he comforted his friend, "we'll get you to the hospital." At this moment the door downstairs crashed open and an eerie moan escaped from the creature that had opened it.

There was an outbreak of screaming. The cop drew his gun quickly; Mark reached for his too but stopped. They needed to conserve what limited ammo they had. "We need to think defensively." He said out loud and everyone looked at him. He glanced around the room for anything potentially helpful. The fridge he thought, it fit into the brake room doorway and it was a lot harder to break down then a wooden door!

"Someone help me move this." He ordered. He yanked the plug out and pulled it out. While Mark admittedly had gotten old and gained a few pounds, his strength had not diminished. The large appliance became lighter as the plumber he'd seen earlier grabbed the other side. They quickly slid it down the hall towards the doorway. But before they could get it there another creature (Mark found this name more appropriate) stumbled in. Mark reached again for his gun, but the plumber beat him to it.

With surprising speed he withdrew his pocketknife and slashed the creature viciously across its chest in several lighting fast strikes. It moaned and fell backwards through the doorway. They quickly moved the fridge into the doorway before it got back up. Mark thanked the man, but he just nodded. The other patrons looked at him in a mix of fear and surprise.

"Where'd you learn to handle a knife like that?" The cop asked suspiciously. The man didn't even cast him a glance as he returned to where he'd been before.

"That should hold the lot of them back for now." Mark explained. He turned to Cindy. "Is there anywhere else to go just in case?" He asked. She nodded.

"We could still go to the store room or the roof." She explained. Mark nodded.

"Good." There was a thumping sound of the creatures began hamming their decaying fists against the refrigerator.

"We should go anyway." The cop said. "We don't want to be near these guys." He turned to Cindy. "How do we get there?"

"Umm…" She turned around and began rummaging around on the desk. "There should be a key here somewhere…" Everyone's eyes followed her as she walked back and forth trying to find the key. She found it under a newspaper on the coffee table right next to her gun. "Here it is!" She held up the key; a blue tag hung from the other end.

"Great!" The cop took the key from her. He walked over to the door that had a blue keyhole (which Mark noted was kind of odd) and unlocked the door. "Lets go people!" He waved his hand. Everyone grumbled a bit at moving again so soon. But nonetheless they complied; casting uneasy looks at the blocked doorway.

"C'mon Bob." Mark helped his friend up. He shouldered Bob through the door and helped up a very narrow staircase. At the top he went through the door and found himself in a large storage room. Beer and spirits of every time lined the shelves.

"Wow." Awed the subway worker. The word echoed slightly.

"This place is bigger then I imagined." The cop said. He walked over to a self and grabbed a bottle. "One sip wouldn't hurt." He said with a grin. Mark shook his head. They walked through the storeroom, however it ended shortly. A lone forklift and two selves sat at the end. Steps lead to a closed shudder which Mark figured lead to the roof. Looks like this was the end of the road. Mark set Bob down on a crate.

"You okay?" He asked.

"No, my stomach and head feel strange." He struggled to get each word out. Mark began to fear the time frame to get Bob to the hospital was shorter then George had said earlier.

"God damn it." The cop swore as he tried to open the shudder.

"Oops… I forgot it broke the other day." Cindy said quietly.

"Wonderful." Commented the other blond women dryly. The cop turned to everyone.

"I guess we're stuck here."

X  
Storage Room, 9:13 P.M

Mark wasn't sure if it was because the room was stuffy, or the fact everyone was stuck with complete strangers hiding from monstrous cannibals, but everyone seemed in a slight bit of a mood. Cindy realized this apparently and tried to defuse the situation. "Well, since we're probably going to be here a while, while don't we get to know each other?" The suggestion was met with a stare from mostly everyone. Not deterred by this, she began. "I'm Cindy Lennox, I'm the waiter here."

"Name's Kevin Ryman," The cop said, "of the newly selected Special Police Force." He pointed to his vest as if it were a trophy. Mark shook his head again.

"I'm George Hamilton, I'm a surgeon at the city hospital." The momentum faded as no one said anything after him, so Mark did.

"I'm Mark Wilkins, and this is Bob." He motioned to his ill friend. "We're security guards."

"I'm Jim Chapman." The subway worker introduced himself in a shaky voice. "I… work on the subway." He motioned to his uniform. The quiet girl in the green shirt spoke next.

"My name is Yoko, I'm a student at the university." Her voice was quiet and Mark was sure he wasn't the only one who had strained to hear her. Everyone looked at the blond women with the red suit who was sitting on another crate.

"Alyssa Ashcroft." She introduced herself. "I'm a journalist for the paper." Everyone turned to the plumber, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. He looked up as if he had sensed everyone's stares.

"…David." He said simply in a rough voice.

"At least we all know each other now!" Cindy said. Mark had to admit she was smart; the tension in the room had eased slightly.

"All right then." Kevin said, waving his hand to catch everyone's attention. "I think this group needs a leader so we can survive. I of course would be perfect for-

"Who died and made YOU king?" Alyssa interrupted him.

"It's a logical choice," He defended. "I've got training." And I've got experience, thought Mark. "What we need to do," Kevin went on, "Is to find some weapons and-

"What we need to do," Mark cut him off, "is to keep moving forward." While Mark had only known this man for half an hour, Mark didn't think he would be best for leading a group of civilians in a crisis. Kevin turned to him.

"What do you know? You're a rent-a-cop!"

"But I'm also a Vietnam veteran," Mark said keeping his voice level, "we need to keep moving forward before the enemy surrounds or corners us. I know this from experience."

"I vote him leader!" Jim raised his hand.

"Good idea lets vote on it! Who thinks the experienced cop should be leader?" Kevin raised his own hand. George and Yoko raised their hands, and Cindy hesitantly followed, giving Mark an apologetic look. Four votes for Kevin.

"And for me?" Mark raised his hand and Jim raised his. Bob struggled but raised his hand, and (somewhat to Marks surprise) David raised his. Four for Mark. That made it a tie. Everyone looked expectantly at Alyssa, who hadn't voted for either, but she shook her head.

"I am not getting involved in this." She said adamantly. That left it at a tie. Kevin looked around, clearly upset by the unexpected tally.

"Ah what's it matter? We're still stuck here anyway, no where to go." He turned to the three that had voted for him. "Okay, so here's what we do- Mark blocked him out and turned to his friend. Bob skin had paled noticeably within the past hour. Mark wondered what could be troubling his friend, even George couldn't tell him.

"Is…he alright?" Marked looked over to see Jim had come over.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Mark wondered briefly if he was lying to himself. "Thank you for your vote." Mark said, trying to steer his mind elsewhere.

"No problem. You DO know a way to get out right?" He asked uncertainly. Mark shook his head.

"No" He admitted, glancing around the room, "But there should be one if we can just find it." Something suddenly caught Mark's eye: On top a self in the corner was a uncovered vent. There was a glowing light, which went that there was a room on the other side! An idea came to mind and Mark turned to Cindy, whom was being taught how the handle her gun by Kevin. "Cindy." Mark called, "How is the shutter broke?" She looked surprised at the question.

"It just doesn't open from this side, why?" Mark didn't answer and turned back to Jim.

"You want to keep going?" Mark asked him. He nodded. Mark pointed to the vent. "There should be a room on the other side, if someone can through they should be able to open the shutter." Jim nodded in understanding. "You're the skinniest person here, you could crawl through." His smile faded slightly.

"But what if there's more of them freaks on that side?" He asked.

"What you rather stay here?" Mark questioned. Jim shook his head.

"No! I'll…. I'll do it!"

"Good, David!" He called to the man. "I've got a plan to get out of here, can you help us?" He nodded and walked over. Mark quickly explained the plan that called for them to lift Jim up.

"Alright." He agreed. They all walked into the corner. They each grabbed one of Jim's feet and hoisted him up. Jim grabbed the shelf and pulled himself up.

"Whoa shit!" He panicked as the shelf shook slightly. Mark and David quickly grabbed it to prevent it from falling; several bottle fell and broke. Still shaking, Jim looked down at them. Mark nodded. Jim nodded and began crawling thought the vent.

"What the hell are you doing over here?" Kevin walked over to investigate the noise.

"Getting out of here." Mark said firmly. He walked over and helped Bob up. "Get up Bob, we've found a way out."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Kevin. As if on cue, there was a click and the shudder came up slightly. David pulled it the rest of the way up, revealing a shaking but smiling Jim.

"I'm not sure about the rest of you," He spoke to Kevin and his group, "But we're continuing on to the roof." Without another word he started carrying Bob up the concrete stairs. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see that the others had decided to follow. David opened to door and held it open as Mark dragged Bob out into the cold evening air. He froze. My God, he thought. From this point he could see the city. There were fires dotting here and there, too many to count. Screaming and sirens echoed throughout the city. He heard Cindy gasp behind him. Kevin walked forward and stared out into the hellish city. Mark was pleased for once to see he looked actually worried. Mark started to carry Bob along the roof, but Bob stopped him.

"Set me down." He ordered.

"But Bob, we'r-

"Set me down!" He repeated. Mark obeyed setting Bob against the side on the wall. He noticed the concerned glances coming from the others.

"We'll be fine, go on ahead." As they walked forward. Mark turned to his friend.  
"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I can't move anymore." Bob explained. "I know me… and I'm not to end up someone else's lunch!" He raised his gun.

"Bob stop!" Marked pushed his friends hand down. This was insane! He must have a fever or something, making him think irrationally.

"No, you don't understand Mark…I feel the hunger…" Mark felt his blood run cold.

"What do you mean?" Bob head lulled forward. "Bob?" Marked shook his friend. "Bob?!"

XX Author's Note XX

Been nearly a year since I read this… Nostalgic. As to how often I'll update this, it should be fairly often; the story is already complete and I just want to patch each chapter before uploading them. There were, if I recall correctly, 45 chapters to it. This chapter was the first two put together, since length was one of my first problems. I'll probably upload two chapters a day, maybe three.


	2. Outbreak II

"Shit, another dead end!" Kevin sounded worried. Cindy glanced at the agitated man as he flopped down onto to ground and rubbed the back of his head. She herself took a seat on an old box. The rest of the survivors found their own seats. Cindy shivered slightly as a cold breeze blew over them.

"So we just sit here and freeze our asses off?" Alyssa asked.

"Pretty much." Kevin grudgedly admitted as he pulled out his gun and began examining its…what was the part called…barrel, that's it! Cindy glanced down at the gun she had clasped in both her hands. Normally Jack was the one who handled defense of the bar. She herself couldn't imagine fighting or hurting anything; it was against her personality.

"Brilliant," said Alyssa, "Great plan!" She said sarcastically. Cindy frowned. Was Alyssa always this negative?

"You got a better plan lady? Cause-" a single gunshot echoed loudly in the night air and Cindy jumped a little. Kevin brought his gun up. Cindy fumbled the safety off on hers. Kevin cautiously peered around the corner where the shot had come from.

It sounded like it had come from Mark or Bob. Cindy feared for the men's health.

Cindy walked over and peered over Kevin shoulder. She gasped. Bob was lying on the ground, blood leaked out a hole in the side of his head. Mark was on his knees, his gun still smoking.

"Now I know what the sickness was." His voice was hollow. "He turned into one right in front of me. I had no choice!" His voice cracked. Cindy was shocked. He'd had to shoot his best friend! She couldn't imagine the pain he was going through. She walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for you friend." She tried to comfort him.

"Thank you." He said. "He was a good man…." Mark picked Bobs gun out his holster and holstered it in his own.

"Does anyone want this?" Mark held out his own gun.

"Sure." Alyssa came forward and grabbed it. She hesitated somewhat. "Sorry about you friend." Mark nodded absentmindedly but stood up. His voice was stronger now.

"He was a good man, but I'll mourn later. We still have to survive." Cindy was sure she wasn't the only one surprised at how Mark seemingly shook off his friend's death. Poor man. Yoko screamed. Everyone looked to see her fall down trying to avoid a crow.

"What the hell?" Kevin asked. "Gah!" He waved his hand as another crow tried to dive bomb him. Cindy looked up to see nearly half a dozen crows circling above. They normally weren't that aggressive.

"They're infected." Said Yoko quietly. Suddenly all of them dived towards the survivors. Gunfire rang out and several feathery bodies fell at their feet. The rest flew off.

"I hate birds." Muttered Alyssa as she checked to see how many bullets she'd fired.

"They're coming back!" Jim shouted, pointing at the birds that had now turned about.

"Get ready!" Ordered Kevin. Everyone aimed upwards. "Cindy!" Kevin barked.

"What? Oh!" She just remembered she was holding one too. She aimed high, but felt her hand twitch. She still couldn't imagine hurting anyone or anything.

"Wait for it…" Kevin pressed. The crows were closer now. "Fire!" Cindy shut her eyes and squeezed the trigger. The recoil nearly caused her to drop the gun. But it apparently worked: the rest of the crows thudded onto the roof.

"Ok, so we knows it infects people and birds, what else?" Kevin looked around for an answer no one could provide.

"Attention everyone!" A voice said suddenly over a mega-phone some distance off.

"I know that voice!" Kevin said. "That's Arthur!"

"Due to the riots in progress, this area will be closed off. Please report to this checkpoint immediately. If you do not leave, we cannot guarantee your safety." It went quiet.

"You heard him, we have to go now!" Kevin said.

"Your not saying we're going to fight back down are you?!" Jim asked.

"Of course not, Cindy, is there a fire escape or something we can go down?" She shook her head.

"No… not from the roof anyway."

"The apartments." Mark said, "We jump to the other roof and take the elevator down."

"Are you nuts?!" Asked Jim.

"He's right, it's the only way." Kevin said. He began looking around for a possible point to jump. "There! Come on people!" He tore off a section of fence and climbed onto the catwalk supporting the neon sign. Everyone reluctantly followed. At the far edge of the catwalk the protective fence was broke. Someone could jump to the other roof, but it would be extremely difficult. He turned around to face everyone else.

"Most athletic first I guess" He said with a grin. Without even hesitating he began running and jumped. He just managed to land his knee on the roof. "Go on, I'll catch ya!" Everyone looked at each other, clearly unwilling to jump over a gap four stories above the ground.

"Well, I'm can't die here, I still got a story to cover." Alyssa said out loud. Everyone stepped back to give her space. Same as Kevin, she got a running start and jumped. She landed short, but Kevin grabbed her arms and hauled her up. More confident, George went, then Yoko, and then it was Cindy's turn. She didn't really want to jump, but she had to get out of here. She took a step back and took a deep breath. Praying that her skirt or high heels wouldn't trip her, she began running. She jumped.

"Oof." Her chest connected painfully with the side of the building. She grabbed widely at the roof trying to find a grip. Just as her hands slipped Kevin grabbed them and hauled her up.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She said. Though her heart was pounding wildly. Jim, Mark, and David jumped over.

"Lets move!" Kevin ordered. Down on the street gunfire erupted. They walked into the small, closet-like shack where an elevator was located. Kevin, Mark, Alyssa, and George went down first, then the rest of them. When they stepped out of the elevator the first thing Cindy noticed was several bodies laying around, apparently half eaten. She tried hard not to throw up. They all hurried out the front door.

They were met by chaos.

Panicked citizens ran down the street screaming. Two police officers were being eaten alive further down the street. One cop was firing a handgun at the advancing hoards.

"Raymond!" Kevin called. The cop spun around.

"You startled me, I'm surprised you're still alive." He admitted, reloading his gun. "We need all the help we can get."

"We'll help anyway we can, right?" Kevin turned around to the group, some of them nodded.

"Alright, move the car to form a barricade, go! There's ammo in the squad car is you need it." Kevin and Mark immediately reached into the squad car to look for ammo. David went up to one of the squad cars and began pushing. Cindy and the rest of the group hung back though. She wasn't sure why, but they all huddled in a group rather then flee with the rest of the civilians. Mark and Kevin were taking their time and aiming for the head. David had managed to push the squad car against another, effectively blocking the street. But it wouldn't be enough, Cindy could see more and more of them coming from down the street. She would go in help, but the thought of killing someone, or whatever they were, made her feel sick.

"Shit man, shit!" Jim swore.

"Do you hear something?" George asked. Cindy listened carefully, but all she could hear was the chaos that had engulfed the city. Then she did hear something, she couldn't quite pinpoint the noise. Yoko screamed. Cindy spun around and gasped. A strange creature was staring at them. She couldn't quite describe it: It looked like a scorpion, but also an ant. But what stood out was the fact it was nearly as big as her!

"Damn!" Alyssa swore and brought the handgun up to fire. She squeezed the trigger twice. Hit twice in the face, the creature rolled over. Its numerous legs flailing wildly, it gave a strange squeal and died, only for two more to show up. "I'm low on bullets so get shooting!" Alyssa barked at her. Cindy frowned but brought the gun up and fired.

The first shot missed, but the second hit one right in the left eye. She pulled the trigger again, the gun make a strange clicking noise but didn't fire. She pulled the trigger repeatedly in desperation. Why wouldn't it fire? "It jammed you stupid girl!" Alyssa yelled.

"Fuck!" Jim ran; the two creatures were even closer. Without much more a choice the rest of them turned and fled. "Guys!" Jim called. Mark, Kevin, David, and Raymond spun around.

"Move!" Raymond ordered. From out of his squad car he produced a shotgun. They ducked out of the way as Raymond blew the creatures into oblivion. He cast a glance behind him. Despite the two-dozen or so bodies lying on the street, dozens more were still coming down the street. "Oh God, they're getting close, we have to go now!" He grabbed key from his pocket and unlocked a padlock on some wooden gates. The group rushed down the alley, only to be stopped by another set of locked wooden doors.

"Hold them off while I open this!" Raymond commanded. He began firing at the door. Mark and Kevin quickly took up stances while David grabbed a metal pipe from a pile of junk. Evidently these creatures could run fast: they were already crawling under the wall. Kevin and Mark opened fire, not giving them a chance to get up. Several burst through the gate and ran at them. David met one head on, hitting it square in the face with the pipe.

"How many of these things are there?" Kevin complained as he slammed another clip into his gun. With one final blast Raymond managed to get the gate open.

"Go!" He yelled. Cindy ran through the gate with the others. They were now in a back parking area along a canal. The group climbed ran to the far end, only to find the gate closed and blocked by a fuel tanker. "Shit!" Raymond blasted another creature. He turned around to the group huddled up the slope. Raymond was unaware of this, having turned back to hold off the monsters.

"Listen, you should go now!" He turned around only to spin back around. Unfortunately this proved fatal as a creature tacked him.

"No!" Kevin struggled to get his gun to fire and Mark was out of bullets.

"It's a fuel tank!" Raymond called to them, "Leak the gas, and use it to burn these bastards, do it now!" The let out a scream as the creature bit into his neck.

"No! Raymond!" Kevin shot the monster in the head but it was to late. He was dead. "Damn it!" Kevin swore loudly. He turned to the others. "What are you doing? You heard him! Hurry up!" He fired at the advancing monsters. Mark spun the valve. Gas sprayed out, running down the slope like a river.

"Move, get outta range!" Mark ordered. Everyone retreated away from the gas.

"Anyone got a light?" Kevin asked. David pulled out a lighter from his pocket. Without the slightest hesitation, he lit it and tossed it onto the wet brick. With a soft whoosh the flames ignited, spreading rapidly down the slope. In a matter of seconds the lot was in flames. Though the thick smoke and orange flames moans of pain and anguish could be heard as the monsters were burned to death. But now they were trapped. Cindy coughed and put her hand over her mouth. The smoke was suffocating them.

"We need to get out of here!" Coughed George. But where could they go? The truck was blocking the gate.

"The trucks going to explode! Get into the canal!" Mark yelled out. Jim was the first in. Mark dropped down after him. Cindy cast a lot back at the flaming truck and then down into the water. Taking a deep breath, she jumped.

For a moment, there was cold, crushing blackness. Cindy knew how to swim; it's just in these circumstances it was hard to focus. She felt a heavy hand pull her up. Coughing and sputtering, she saw that some of the gas had spilled into the canal, effectively setting the water on fire. She saw an opening tunnel in the wall; Kevin was already crawling into it. She paddled over that way. She gripped the edge and, with much difficulty, pulled herself up. It was a small overflow tunnel that dropped off just after a few feet. Cindy tried to climb down, only to slip and fall.

"Ow." She muttered. It was a sewer tunnel, cold and dimly lit by light from the city above. She felt two hands under her arms pull her up.

"Careful now." Said Kevin, his now soggy hair clung to his face. She could also see Mark and Jim had made it.

"My life is shit." Jim muttered as he poured some water out of his cap. There was a sudden explosion.

"There goes the truck, hope that guy had insurance." Kevin remarked. Alyssa and George crawled through the tunnel. Yoko came soon afterwards, then David.

"Good, no casualties." Mark commented.

"Is everyone ok?" George asked.

"We're cold, wet, and stuck in a dark and smelly sewer, does that sound ok to you?" Alyssa snapped.

"Do you have to complain about everything?" Kevin asked.

"At least we're all alive right?" Said Cindy trying to calm the tension again.

"Rather this shit then staying with those freaks." Said Jim, who was now emptying his shoes.

"Well, shall we get going then?" Kevin suggested. No one objected to this, and the group made its way down the narrow tunnel. Cindy shivered a little when several rats scurried by.

"Hey look!" Alyssa pointed to a man cover on the roof. They all gratefully climbed up. It came out into an alley, right outside the Apple Inn Hotel. Dark smoke and a orange glow could be seen in the sky, no doubt from the tanker. They all walked out to the street, several cars had crashed into each other; a armored van was parked on the curb. A police officer stood in the middle of the street.

"Dorian!" Kevin called, waving. The officer, Dorian, looked up in surprise.

"Kevin, is that you?!"

"Yep!" He ran up to greet his figurative brother. "Are you handling evacuations?" He motioned to the armored van. Dorian nodded.

"Yeah, are… they with you?" He looked over at the group of waterlogged survivors.

"Yeah, we've had quite the time getting here." Kevin explained. "When are we leaving?"

"Five minutes." Kevin nodded and turned back to the group.

"See, I told you they would get us out of here."

X Five Minutes Later, Outside the Apple Inn X

"That's it then?" Dorian looked around at the group and two other civilians that had showed up. "Get in please." They wall climbed in. Cindy had to admit it was very cramped, but at least they were getting out of the city. Dorian pressed his foot on the gas and the van rumbled on. He turned down the alleyway they'd just come out of. On and on they went, always running through alleys and side streets. "The highway is too dangerous, we're taking side streets." Dorian explained. He suddenly eased on the break. "Damn, another barricade." The truck stopped. He turned around to the survivors. "As you can see, there are too many barricades, I'm afraid you'll have to get out and continue on foot.

X Alleyway, 9:57 P.M X

"This sucks!" Jim threw his arms up. "Why the hell are we just sitting here?!" He turned to everyone, who in turn was trying to ignore him. Cindy sat on the edge of the van. As much as Kevin had tried to argue, Dorian wouldn't take them any further. This-to say the least-upset everyone. They were the police, weren't they meant to protect them? But no, they had to fend for themselves, which is why they were preparing.

Cindy shivered, she couldn't be sure why but all the moaning they'd heard earlier seemed much louder now. Everyone was armed: Alyssa had 'borrowed' a shotgun from the van, and stubbornly refused to give it up, everyone had taken plenty of bullets, and Kevin was now attempting to teach Yoko and George how to fire the extra handguns they'd found in the van. Cindy looked down at her own firearm. It still didn't work, but she didn't want to bother Kevin. She turned to where Mark and David were sitting and conversing quietly.

"Um, hey Mark, was it?" She asked. The older man looked up; David scowled slightly.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked. She held out the gun.

"It stopped firing back in front of the bar, I'm don't know why." She explained. Mark took the gun out of her hand. "I'm afraid I don't know much about guns…"

"This hasn't been fired in ages, it's dirty. You need to keep your gun clean at all times." He began to pull the gun apart and wiping the individual pieces on his shirt. He reassembled it and handed it back to her. She thanked them and turned back to where Kevin was hosting his 'Guns 101' class. Yoko held the gun out in front of her nervously; it shook in her hand.

"Go on." Kevin eased gently. She squeezed the trigger. The force flat out knocked the small girl on her butt, though the bullet still managed to hit a beer bottle Kevin had set on a dumpster for practice. "Ok not bad, though we might need to look for something with a little less kick." He helped her up.

"You might just want to stick with one of us instead of fighting kiddo." Alyssa commented from where she'd been watching. Yoko nodded and went to sit by her. Kevin meanwhile motioned for George to take a shot. The man hesitated briefly but fired. He could handle to recoil, the bullet just missed.

"It just takes practice." Kevin urged him to fire again. Behind them Cindy heard Mark trying to explain to Jim how a gun worked. For the next fifteen or so minutes, everyone just lounged around, talking, checking their weapons, or other things. Cindy was surprised at how everyone was acting like long friends when they'd just met in a bar an hour ago. Though she supposed catastrophic events like this brought people together.

"Hey, where are you going?" Jim called out and everyone turned around to see Mark and David were beginning to walk off.

"Escape won't come by staying here, we're moving on." Mark explained. "Its probably for the best everyone goes. He looked around. The two other civilians shook their heads. Jim didn't need to be asked and already was ready to go. Cindy frowned. Was it honestly their best option? Kevin sighed.

"Well, I suppose he has a point." Kevin said. And just like that, that little group was all traveling again. Kevin wished Dorian good luck and took the lead. The cop did not try to stop them.

The group found a walkway that led towards Main Street. Everyone was becoming very uneasy at how the moaning seemed to be getting louder and louder with each step.

"Maybe we should try another route." Jim suggested weakly. They came to a footbridge over Main Street. The moaning was extremely loud now.

"It sounds like they're on Main Street." Mark commented. For a moment the group stood still; No one wanted to see what carnage was there. Above the groans of the demented though, a new sound emerged: gunshots.

"Someone's down there!" Kevin said. He rushed onto the footbridge and stopped suddenly. "Holy shit…" He muttered. Mark and David went up, both having a shocked reaction. Cindy reluctantly went up to join them.

"Oh my god…" Words could not describe the scene. All of Main Street was filled with the demented; for miles there was no other sight. It was as if they had walked into hell itself. A few flimsy iron barriers held back the crowd. Three lone officers were there; two were firing into the horde, while another appeared to be working on something. Whatever it was it was in vain, the barriers fell, and the creatures were upon two of the officers. The third backed up in panic, firing randomly.

"Shit!" Kevin swore and charged down towards Main Street. Mark and David charged after him. Cindy hesitated but followed them. They ran down the stairs onto the street.

"Kevin! Help!" The cop pleaded. Bang! Kevin fired and brought two of them down. "The detonator! If we can get to it we can clear the street!" The cop explained. They were planning to blow up the city?! Cindy stopped momentarily in shock.

"Push forward I see it!" Mark opened fire and walked forward at the same time. David swung the pipe viciously, apparently trying to draw the creatures toward him. One creature lumbered towards Cindy and she brought the gun up.

"I'll shoot!" She warned. He didn't stop; he apparently had lost all sense of reasoning. She hesitating, this was a human being, just the thought… Boom. The creature's head and upper body was down apart. Cindy turned around to see Alyssa and George coming down onto the street.

"What are you staring at? Get shooting!" Alyssa told her. Cindy turned back and brought the gun up again. She lined the sights up with a female zombie. It had to be done, she told herself. She squeezed the trigger. Her head exploded and the body slumped to the ground. She took a deep breath and lined up with another one. Bang. She took a few steps forward.

"I got it!" Mark called as he grabbed the detonator with one hand. He didn't have the chance to activate it as a group rushed him. Mark stepped back, firing as he did. "Catch!" He tossed it in the air. Kevin grabbed it out the air with one hand and fired with his other. He tried to go around the group to where the detonation wires were, only for another group to rush him as well.

"Shit!" He called. He threw it in to air. It clattered to a stop in front of Cindy. She realized she was just a few feet from the detonation wires. The zombies had lumbered off towards the others.

"Cindy, go!" Kevin slammed in another clip. She grabbed the detonator and tried to run. Two of them cut her off, but a shotgun blast knocked them both back.

"Move girl!" Alyssa barked. Cindy rushed forward and got down next to the detonation kit. She plugged the wire in while the others fired at anything remotely close to her. She hesitated for a second. If she pushed this the whole street would be destroyed and it would kill all of the creatures…

"Cindy! Hurry up!" Kevin said desperately as he lashed his foot out to kick a creature in the head. She pushed the handle down. The result was immediate. Charges placed along Main Street detonated systematically in order. The creatures were engulfed in flames or hurled high into the air.

"Get outta there!" Mark grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. The placed explosives came closer to where they were. The final charge detonated right where she'd triggered the detonator. Every creature that had surrounding them were swept away in a shockwave of flames and rubble. Several limp bodies not obliterated by the flames fell at the survivor's feet. The scene of the living dead was gone, replaced by carnage. Jim and Yoko rushed down from the footbridge where'd they'd watched the spectacle to survey the wreckage.

No one spoke for several long moments.

"Its finally over… "Cindy breathed a sigh of relief. She suddenly realized how tired she was.

"Hell of a night wasn't it?" Kevin commented.

"It'd make a good story." Alyssa agreed.

X

Several minutes later the rest of the R.P.D had showed up. Officers quickly began to clean up the situation. The survivors were given something of a hero's applause before being shuffled away in the armored van they'd came in. Dorian gave them a awkward greeting. "So where now?" Kevin asked.

"Away from this city as humanly possible. But we need to hurry, by the sound of it the army's about to barricade the city off." He brought them up to speed at how things had progressed in the last few hours.

A quarantine had been set in place, and communications with the outside were quickly deteriorating. Even more, it was impossible to get information about what was going on in the rest of the city. Looting and violence was becoming even wider spread.

Escape would not be easy.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: When I did this fic, I decided to try and give each scenario a date from the week the outbreak occurred. Though spanning it out to include all 10 scenarios of File 1 and 2, there was still a blank day there, forcing me to come up with a original adventure for the cast. More so, the next chapter is 3 put together. While the later chapters usually exceeded 8-12 pages in Microsoft word the capture the longer scenarios, the early ones had only 1-4 thousand words. But the quality and word count increased over time, so we should still have nearly 200,000 words by story end.

X

**Raccoon Fire Station 5, 9:34 A.M September 25th**

Alyssa grumbled as consciousness came to her. As much as she tried sleep was gone. Still, grumbling, she sat up from the mat she'd been loaned to sleep on. She wondered if it had been the sun that had woken her, but as her senses came back she realized that the sound of someone weeping had woken her. Confused, she stood up and walked towards the sound.

At the front of the station a screaming women was being held back by two police officers. Another one was trying to pick up the little girl the women was desperately holding on to. Alyssa was confused till she noticed the bandages on the little girls shoulder; she'd been bitten. At last the officers succeeded, pulling the girl from her mother's arms. One officer carried the crying child away while the women fell on her knees, weeping harder. The scene was heart breaking, even for someone like her. Alyssa pulled out a small, portable (and waterproof) camera and captured the powerful scene. When she got out, that picture would help dig the grave of the bastards who were responsible.

Now that the shooting had ended and her brain had rested, she wondered for the first time just what was happening and who was responsible for it. As Yoko had said it was all remarkably similar to the S.T.A.R.S claim about Umbrella, but the whole idea still seemed laughable. She briefly considered calling Ben, a fellow reporter, to see if he knew anything. Last she heard he was snooping into something about Umbrella and the Police Chief Brian Irons. She dismissed the idea; Ben was probably dead as well as the rest of the staff…

She stepped out into the street, looking at the city. Fires still burned untamed in some places, though the violence seems to have faded. Either the zombies didn't like the sun or the police had contained the situation. She wondered when the evacuation they were promised last night would get there. Taking a last glance at the crying women she turned and headed back. Half way she ran into Kevin.

"What's going on?" he asked. A single gunshot rang out in the quiet air. He noticed Alyssa's expression and nodded. After a moment of silence he swore suddenly. "Damn it! Why is this happening? Who did anything to deserve this?" Frustrated, he kicked a can of pain that was sitting by the wall.

"Who knows?" Alyssa responded. Despite her tough exterior she too wondered the same.

**1:59 P.M**

By noon the station had got really crowded: Aside from the rag tag group Alyssa had come with, quite a lot of children were there, some with parents or without. The three cops that stood on guard distributed some food and water. The only truly eventful thing had been when three zombies had wondered up, though they were quickly dispatched. Alyssa scowled as a flying toy nearly missed her head; she hated kids. The crying, the whining, all of it. Shaking her head, she retreated to the back where some of the group was holding up. Oddly, she felt more comfortable around them at the moment.

She found Yoko and David sitting in the Fire Station's kitchen. "Hey kiddo." Alyssa took a seat.

"Oh, hey." Yoko looked up.

"I heard that a Army helicopter is supposed to be getting here soon to take us to the city limits." Alyssa relayed what the cop had told her. David looked up at this, but just for a moment.

"So you think this was Umbrella?" Alyssa asked casually. She had wondered since the break room last night how this girl remembered those rumors. She just nodded. "Didn't I see you walk in wearing a Umbrella uniform last night?" Alyssa pressed. The girl nodded again.

"I work a computer at a pharmacy part-time." She explained. "For college." She tacked on the last part. While truthfully Alyssa doubted this girl could do much harm the fact the worked at Umbrella couldn't be ignored. "I have no idea what any of this is, all I remember is it sounds like the Arkley mountains incident." Alyssa nodded.

"Yeah, and to think we laughed at them when they came running in yelling about zombies and giant monsters." Alyssa snorted. "Jokes on us now." Alyssa supremely disliked the feeling. Jim ran into the room, appearing as excited as a little kid.

"The helicopters here!" He announced in joy and ran back out. The three of them followed him out. They all joined the other four near the front of the station.

"We'll have to wait, they're evacuating children first." George explained. A Huey helicopter was on the street; two grim faced and heavily armed soldiers climbed out.

"Ok!" The first one called. "Youngest first, come on, come on!" And so began the extremely sluggish process of evacuating nearly sixty people with one helicopter. Despite repeated offers, Cindy and Yoko allowed others to leave before them. Alyssa had a soft spot herself, though she wouldn't show it.

It was well past six and the sky was already dark by the time things thinned out. Aside from the original group and the three cops, four men and one woman were still there as the helicopter left with another group.

"Finally we can leave soon!" Jim said in joy. An eerie moan sounded outside and the cops and Kevin immediate drew their guns. They all ran outside, looking around wildly.

"Where is it?" One cop called. Another moan, though this one sounded from a different direction.

"I see two of them!" One cop called. He squeezed off two rounds.

"Three of them by the car!" Kevin called. Mark drew his own gun, and Alyssa went and fetched the shotgun she'd gotten. Why were they all showing up just now?

"Shit shit shit! Where's that helicopter?" Jim whined.

"Get back and shut up." David ordered, shoving the smaller man back. He picked up the pipe and stepped out onto the street, glancing around. Alyssa watched as all the men looked around cautiously.

"Hey, I hear the helicopter!" One called. Sure enough the clattering of rotor blades could be heard, but it sounded…different.

"Oh shit…" Kevin muttered. The group walked into the street. They could see the helicopter is the sky, but it was moving stranger, black dots were surrounding it.

"Are those crows?" Cindy asked. The helicopter hurled over them, several birds dived down. Everyone aimed up and fired. The shotgun bucked against Alyssa's shoulder painfully but its scatter did its job. There was an explosion and everyone turned around. The helicopter had crashed; taken down by birds.

"Oh no, no no no no no!" Jim screamed in disbelief and fell to his knees.

"Behind you!" One of the men shouted. They all spun around; At least six zombies were lumbering towards them. They all opened fire.

"Crows above us!" Mark warned.

"Gah!" One of the cops collapsed as a crow survived the gunfire and pecked at his eye. He fell forward, clutching his punctured eye! "Get inside!" He screamed. They quickly ran inside. Alyssa wasn't sure why but three of the other civilians had ran off. A cop hit the button to close the garage. There were several thumps of the crows collided with it.

Kevin and one of the other cops set the wounded man on a table. "Someone find me a first aid kit!" George ordered. Carefully he moved the mans hand to see the damage. Alyssa peered over his shoulder, the guy didn't look pretty. Jim, meanwhile, was hysterical.

"Whatdowedo whatdowedo WHAT DO WE DO?!" He screamed he last part as he began pacing around the room.

" Will you just shut up and sit down!" Alyssa snapped at him. God what a coward.

"Will he be okay doc?" Kevin asked. George taped the bandage he'd wrapped around the mans head.

"He'll be fine." George told him.

"Shouldn't we be finding a way out of here?" The women asked.

"We can't go outside." Yoko said. "The crows would swarm us.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Cindy asked. There was a crash above. Jim screamed and dived under the table. Everyone who was armed aimed upwards. There were more thuds, it sounded as if the crows were throwing themselves against the roof. "How strong is the roof?" One of the civilians asked.

"Not sure." One of the cops confessed.

"Great." Alyssa remarked sourly.

"We're fine, the buildings stone ain't it? How will they get in then?" Kevin said trying to assure everyone.

"The vents." David said simply. He had a point, the crows could easily get into the kitchen, but she doubted they were that smart.

"I'll go check it out." One of the cops said and walked off towards the kitchen.

"What are we going to do?" Jim asked. "The choppers gone, they won't send another one."

"Surely there is some place that's safe?" George inquired.

"The police station." Kevin said. "If it isn't safe there then no where is safe."

"I was just there, it's practically a fortress." The cop said as he returned to the room.

"And just how do you propose we get there?" Mark asked. The tubby guard got up. "We can't fight, we're outnumbered."

Kevin appeared slightly annoyed but spoke calmly. "And just what do you propose we do then Mark?" He asked.

"I don't know, but it's useless suggesting ones that are impossible."

Kevin sighed, but looked up, slightly disturbed. "You alright Mike?" He addressed the wounded cop they'd laid on the table. His breathing was rather heavy now, with his chest heaving up and down quickly.

"Excuse me." George stepped forward. He leant over the suffering man and felt his chest.

"Well what is it?" One of the other cops asked.

"Some form of shock I think." George felt the officer's head. Alyssa stepped back slightly. Wasn't bad health what Mark's friend had been showing before he turned into one? The mans suddenly sat up, coughing and sputtering heavily. Shaking violently now, he fell off the table and hit the floor with a thud.

"Mike!" Kevin got down beside his companion. The officer gave a last heaving gasp and went limp. There was a still silence in the roof. Alyssa frowned. Poor man, what had happened to him?

Kevin sighed. "Someone help me please." He asked. One of the civilians came up and together the men hoisted the body up.

"Poor man." Cindy said.

"He was a fine officer." One of the cops said sadly.

"Always devoted to his job. The other added. Alyssa looked around, you could feel the sadness in the room. So many were dying so fast, it was impossible to even digest the shock…

There was more hammering as the zombies tried again to open the shudder separating them from they're dinner. Everyone stared, watching for the slightest sign of damage. Kevin and the man came back.

"That door is really thin isn't it?" Cindy asked worryingly. True, it was more foil then stone. "Shouldn't we tie it down or something?" She asked. Well, at least Alyssa had to admit the girl had at least some brains. David walked off, motioning for Mark to follow him. The two returned seconds later with some chain. They worked quickly to secure the shudder to the floor.

"Shit man, they'll get in sooner of later, we need to think how to get out of here!" Jim said.

"It'll buy us some time so shut up." Alyssa told him. Everyone looked around at each other, waiting for someone to suggest something.

"Can we escape into the sewer from here?" Mark asked.

"Might be a way in the basement." The cop said. "Lets check." They all made their way down a set of narrow stairs into the basement. The cop shined a flash light around. "There!" He called. He pointed the light at a grate in the floor. If they removed it, they could get into the sewer and escape. The other cop and Mark lifted the heavy metal cover and set it aside. The smell was worse then the one upstairs.

"Well, it ain't pretty but it works." Kevin said. There was a crash and a scream. Everyone spun around. The cop that had died had turned, and now he was biting at the legs of the civilian.

"No!" One officer shouted and fired at his former friend. The bullet tore the zombies head apart, splattering brain and blood across the floor. "Crows can infect people?!" They apparently hadn't considered that.

"Ah damn it!" The man collapsed down, his leg to damaged to support him. George and Cindy took a step forward to help me but Kevin put his arms out to block them.

"We can't help him now." He said. The man looked in despair at his leg and at the survivors, knowing fully he was doomed. The hammering from upstairs was louder now: the zombies would get in soon. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Just go." The man said. "Go, and I'll cover it back up when you leave, just go!" He was going to stay behind to help them escape…

"Thank you." Said Cindy. Everyone else gave his or her own sign of appreciation.

"I'll make sure everyone knows about this in my next article." Alyssa promised. That was really the only sign of appreciation she could think of at the moment.

The man nodded. "Your all welcomed, now go!"

Kevin jumped in first, then George, then David. Cindy and Jim hesitated slightly but dropped down. Mark helped Yoko and the other women down before going himself. Alyssa sat down on the edge and pushed herself off. It was only a six-foot or so drop. After the two cops lowered themselves down there was a scraping sound as the cover was pushed back. Eight civilians and three cops were now stuck in the dark sewer, barely lit by the officer's two flashlights.

"Your in uniform, why don't you got one?" Alyssa asked Kevin pointedly.

"Didn't think I'd need it." He shrugged.

"So you're the one we're dependent on to defend the city? Wonderful." Alyssa remarked.

"Hey, zombie apocalypses aren't in the manual." He snapped back.

"Guys, shouldn't we be trying to escape?" Cindy asked. The two broke off the argument. As much as he was good at shooting Alyssa still found him annoying, then again, she found most people annoying. She sighed.

"We better get going." The officer said. And so they set off, hopefully to somewhere cleaner and safer.

"Are you sure there isn't anything down here?" Cindy asked anxiously, her voice echoing throughout the dark tunnel. They couldn't see barely ten feet in front of them. Alyssa doubted they even knew the layout of the sewers.

"Nothing except maybe rats, but I don't think they're aggressive." The cop responded. Alyssa watched one scurried away as the beam of a flashlight revealed its location. As big as they were you think that something was wrong. It felt like they'd been trudging threw the sewers for hours, though in reality she knew it must've only been half an hour. They had yet to find a escape route.

"Man, aren't there supposed to be alligators or something down here?" Jim asked nervously. Alyssa stared at the man, tempted to call him stupid.

"That's an urban legend.' Kevin told him. The was a noise ahead and everyone froze. The officers pointed their flashlights forward. More rats? The water was rippled, as if something had just dived under. One of the officers frowned, "Hold that light steady." He ordered the other officer and went forward, gun extended in a two-hand marksman grip. He stopped right where the ripple had formed. He kicked around in the water a little and then looked around and then back at the group. "Nothing's here." He reported. Out of the water came an open jaw with hundreds of teeth. The officer didn't even realize it till they swallowed him whole. It was a gator, Alyssa realized, a giant and aggressive alligator. Someone screamed and there was a outbreak of shooting. In such close quarters the sound was deafening. Alyssa brought her shotgun up and fired. The slug simply bounced off its scaly head.

"Run, go!" Kevin called. Alyssa spun around and started running. She barely took four steps before colliding with someone. She swore and pushed herself up. They needed to get up where it was lighter. She ran, unsure of exactly where she was going, guided only by the faint outlines she could see.

"I found something!" Jim called out, but she couldn't see him. A small flame appeared in the darkness, a lighter David was holding.

"You have two of them?" She asked. Now she could see that Jim and Yoko were already here. There was a sloshing sound behind her and she turned around to see Kevin run up, pulling Cindy behind him.

"Everyone here?" He panted. Mark and George ran up too.

"Wasn't there a cop and a civilian with us?" Mark asked. A echoed sound of a man screaming reached their ears, only to get cut off.

"Help me!" Another voice cried out, this time it was the civilian.

"Shit." Kevin swore and ran off, Mark and David went after him. Alyssa stood still in the darkness, not willing to move. The only sound was Jim cursing profanely under his breath. In the distance more gunshots rang out.

"Poor man, what was that thing?" Cindy asked.

"Are you blind girl? It was an alligator." Alyssa responded irritably. The whole situation was just…word couldn't describe how much it wasn't normal! There was more gunshots and sloshing. Mark came back.

"We couldn't save her." He said breathlessly. Kevin and David ran up behind him. Mark held a reserved look on his face: accepting but troubled.

"Its shell to hard, we should probably get out of here." Kevin said. The alligator moved with amazing speed, already upon the group. Alyssa moved forward and fired again. The slug again just bounced off its hard head. She pumped the shotgun again. This thing didn't scare her, it was just an oversized purse! BANG. Another slug hit it. The creature simply growled and stalked closer.

"There's a cover up there!" Jim called pointing up. BANG. Another slug. Alyssa pumped the gun again. Why wouldn't this thing just die already? She pulled the trigger again. _Click. _

"Oh shit." She muttered, reaching into her pocket for more rounds. She felt Kevin's hand grip her shoulder and pull her back. He shoved her roughly towards the ladder. "Hey!" She protested. Kevin just waved his hand as he fired at the creature. Well, better to die up there then down here. Alyssa decided. She climbed up to the street. Everyone else was already up there. Kevin climbed up behind her, kicking the lid back over the hole.

"Well, at least we don't have to deal with that anymore." He said. He stared at the cover, probably wondering about the other officer.

"Where's the police station? We got to get to somewhere safe!" Jim said frantically. The street they were on was clear, but for how long? Kevin looked at the nearest street sign, which told them then were on 3rd Street. But that meant…

"The station is five miles away." Kevin said flatly. Jim moaned and put his hands on his head.

"What are we going to do?" He screamed into the night air.

"Quiet!" Alyssa snapped at him. "You'll just make it easier for them to find us!" Jim clamped his hand over his mouth and looked around fearfully.

"We're all tired, maybe we should find somewhere to sleep?" Cindy suggested.

"My apartment in only a few blocks from here." Alyssa remembered suddenly. While the idea of sharing with seven people she barely knew was unappealing, she couldn't just leave them in the street could she?

No one objected to the idea. So they set off. The walk was mostly uneventful. Aside from a infected raccoon attacking them from an alleyway, they made it without incident. Alyssa fished the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. Despite the apparent looting and chaos in the rest of the town, her place seemed to be just fine. Good.

It was a rather long and frustrating task, one Alyssa would rather shove upon them, but she finally worked things out: Cindy would sleep on the couch and Yoko would have the armchair. The men would have to make due with the floor.

She watched as Mark and David finished the task of boarding the kitchen window from crows. The two had gone over the apartment for every conceivable weakness and reinforced it. They weren't short on firepower if it was needed either. Alyssa would've normally ranted about loosing her security deposit, but it wasn't worth dying other.

With the place secure and everyone settled, Alyssa retreated to her bedroom. Running from birds and shooting alligators really took a lot out of you. She opened the door but stopped. "Oh hell no." She said.

"You snooze you lose." Kevin grinned from the bed. Alyssa privately wondered how Kevin had ever gotten his badge.

"Out my bed hotshot, you get the floor." Alyssa was tired, and she didn't want to deal with this.

"What are you complaining about? There's plenty of room to share." He said with a joking grin. She knew he was joking, but Alyssa still scowled, but then her lips curved up. He wanted to mess with her? Fine.

She reached into her bedside draw. Where was it? She could've sworn- Ah! She pulled the device out and hit the on switch. A spark leapt from the tip. Kevin took one look at the stun gun and for once his cool demeanor diminished. "Uhh… maybe I will take the floor." He half ran out of the room. Smiling now, Alyssa pocketed the weapon (you never know, might come in handy) and laid down. In the morning they could go to the police station and with any luck get a ride out of this hellhole.

**September 26th, 9:59 A.M**

Daylight, the one cure for the plague. No zombies roamed the streets during the day. The group of survivors had set out at dawn for the R.P.D, but nearly four hours later they weren't making much progress. The city was in ruin. In just two days it was a mess.

Cars were crashed and burning everywhere, buildings were destroyed, and some roads all together were too damaged to walk on. So four hours later, they hadn't the slightest idea where they were. Though Alyssa was fairly sure they'd passed her press officer sometime ago.

"Hey, I think I see the station!" Kevin called. He ran forward, clambering over a abandoned mustang. The survivors ran after him. Sure enough, it was the station. The gate was locked tight with a padlock. Kevin run forward and tugged on the gate. "Hey! Hey! Tony? Marvin? Hello?!" He yelled into the station. The front doors opened slightly and a officer poked his head out, surprise dawning on his face. "Fred! Fred open the gate, I found some survivors!" The officer stepped out and took a look at the survivors before nodding and running back inside. A moment later the officer returned, followed now by a male and a blond female officer.

"Marvin, Rita." Kevin said in relief. "Glad to see your alive. The padlock fell down. Rita ran forward and hugged Kevin.

"I can't believe it! I thought you went with the rest!" She said.

"The rest? Where is the rest of the S.P.F?" Kevin pulled back in worry. Rita shook her head.

"Not sure." She admitted.

"This is a nice reunion but we need to get back inside." The cop, Marvin, said. They all went in and the cop quickly relocked the gate.

"Where is everyone?" Kevin asked, noting the emptiness of the station lobby. The four cops looked hesitantly.

"Sit down." Marvin said. "You guys know what happened?" They shook their heads. Marvin sighed. "A lot has happened here, but it will take a while to explain."


	4. Desperate Times I

Looking back, I realize how short my chapters use to be. It's strange, like I can't believe I wrote them.

R.P.D Headquarters, 10:30 A.M September 26th

Kevin listened in growing distress as Marvin explained the current situation. Communications with anywhere were impossible. R.P.D ammunition stocks were scattered or gone. The city was under martial law. There was no escape or way to survive.

"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Jim asked frantically.

"All we can do is keep moving place to place till the situation is resolved I guess." Marvin replied. He went on to explain how the rest of the officers were either dead, had run away, or had disappeared off the map. And how since barely any ammo or guns left in the station, the undead now roamed the hallways. For once Kevin was lost on a joke or way to lighten the situation, and believe him, he tried. At last he said.

"Just tell me where they are." He pulled his Colt 1911 pistol, the standard S.P.F. sidearm, and flicked the safety off. "I can take care of it." Kevin may not have been the best shot in the police force, but he didn't need to be here.

"Don't be a fool!" Marvin snapped at him. "Your attitude isn't a substitute for skill." You'll either get eaten or impaled by lickers. We need to think rationally and defensively." Kevin was reminded unpleasantly at how he'd been turned down for his S.T.A.R.S position twice before it was disbanded.

" Mhmm." Mark nodded in agreement. Kevin was lost for words, he'd never seen the sergeant this temperamental. The disheartened air of the station was so foreign, it messed up his mojo. Ok, one question at a time.

"Lickers?" He asked first.

"These freaking monsters!" Fred said fearfully. It was even more unsettling to see a cop scared. "They're pink and their brains are exposed. They got these sharp tongues too, I saw one of them impale Dave right through the head!" Kevin frowned.

"What?" Alyssa asked skeptically. "I know that what outside is odd but that sounds a little to far fetched."

"No… remember when we were escaping the bar? That giant scorpion attacked us." Cindy reminded her. Kevin shook his head. It'd only been two days, two days and half the police force was dead, along with strange un-human creatures running around. There were bad days but this was beyond anything practical.

"What about S.T.A.R.S? They warned us about it shouldn't they be here to help?" Kevin asked. As much as they'd argued their point Kevin couldn't believe they'd just cut and run. But Marvin shook his head. "Chris and Barry quit already. Rebecca went with them. And for all I know Jill left."

"So who is here to fix this?" Kevin asked. Marvin was silent for a moment.

"Just us." He said heavily. "Tony is here too, but other then that we're all that left as far as I know. The rest of the S.P.F shipped out last night."  
Kevin pondered this for a second. "We're the only ones in the station?" He asked.

"A little girl showed up here a while ago, but she went to the bathroom and didn't come back. A officer went with her but she didn't come back either. Wing was closed off after that." Rita explained.

"The police chief hasn't been heard from either." Marvin told him.

"That means it's just the thirteen of us against the city…" Kevin said. Everyone looked at each other in fear. Their prospects had never appeared so bleak.

X

**7:12 P.M**

The day had passed and things were worse then anyone could've imagined. Zombies had surrounded the building, their moans could be heard anywhere. The front gate was under heavy assault. Previous attempts of trying to get the zombies away had just wasted ammo.

Their hopes had been hollow; the station was the most dangerous place in the city. And it wouldn't survive much longer.

In order to think of an escape plan, everyone was meeting in the main office to discuss escape planes. While everyone else milled around waiting, Kevin opened the drawer to his desk and brushed aside some annoying paper work.

"Here she is." He picked up the shiny and powerful Desert Eagle handgun. If any emergency situations arose this thing could take down a elephant. He should've considered himself lucky it was still there; most of the desks had already been ransacked for weapons and ammunition. He tucked it in his leg holster.

"Okay people, listen up!" Marvin called for quiet. He laid a large map blueprint of the building on the table. "Okay, we need to get out and find help, but we're surrounded on all sides."

"So how do we get out?" Alyssa interrupted. She tapped her foot impatiently. Kevin had noted her as a good fighter, but impatient none the less.

"This place use to be a art museum. There's a vent built in the lobby." Marvin said as-a-matter-of-factly. "It's slim, but Rita can slip out and get help.

"So how do we get to the vent?" Kevin asked. He'd never seen a vent in the lobby. Marvin hesitated.

"It's…. complicated." He admitted awkwardly.

"Complicated how?" Mark asked.

"You need to complete a puzzle by gathering pieces to open it… It's the statue." Marvin explained.

"Seriously?" Kevin asked. That was about the absolute most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, and he had to listen to criminal excuses! Marvin shrugged.

"I didn't design the place." He defended. He turned serious again.

"There are crescent plates scattered in the station that'll open it, but I ain't sure where. We need three things done. We need those plates." He put his fist down for emphasis. "I've seen the plates on pedestals and in cases throughout the station. What's more, we need more weapons." Amongst the group, Alyssa was the most heavily armed.

"It'll take more than handguns to help us out there." Rita warned.

"And lastly, there have been zombies climbing the fire escape to the roof. And others are trying to get to the emergency stairway. If we don't stop them, the whole station could come overrun."

"I'll take the roof." Fred said.

"I got the side yard." Aaron declared. The other officers nodded. Aaron was somewhat as a role model in the force; Kevin had even asked him for advice following their arrival at the station.

"I'll lead a party to search for weapons." Mark volunteered. Kevin couldn't really disagree, cause then he could search for the puzzle pieces with people he didn't have to argue proper authority over.

"That sounds good, take David and Jim with you." Kevin decided to avoid the two who would be less use to him. "And Yoko, she can help carry stuff." He turned around before the small girl could protest. He didn't see her as weak, but she did have a means to carry ammunition. "I can take George, Cindy, and Alyssa and search for the plates." He told Marvin. He nodded.

"Alright, it's a plan people. Now move! Our lives depend on it." The assembled men and women scattered. Mark's group left out into the hallway for the RPD's lower levels. If any arms remained, they could likely be found there.

While Marvin and Rita went to keep watch in the main hall, Kevin's dispersed to look in the rooms on the second floor, where most of the exhibits had been previous to the transition.

7:25 P.M

"Such a stupid system.' Kevin muttered. The original momentum had faded and the party had resorted to just searching random rooms. They were stuck searching though dead bodies and piled furniture. And to think just two days ago he'd gone to the bar just to drink and flirt with the waitress…

Now he was fighting for his life. Defeated, the group moved to the waiting room, which had been barricaded with desks and chairs. Kevin sighed and began opening drawers. He made a mental note that if he ever met the guy who made this system, he'd punch him in the face.

"I think I see something." Cindy said. She tried reaching up onto one of the stacked desks, but she was too short. Kevin tried to reach himself, but his fingers only brushed against something. He stood back in frustration. Then he got a brilliant idea.

"Alyssa, come over here." She cautiously came over.

"What?" She asked. Kevin cupped his hands.

"C'mon here, I'll give you a lift." She grumbled but complied. Kevin lifted her up and Alyssa groped around.

"Found something!" She called. Kevin let her down. Everyone gathered around as she held something out. It was a crescent plate, bronze with a bright jewel in the middle.

"Wow…" Cindy awed.

"Must be worth a lot." Kevin commented. He took the plate. "One down, just a few more to go."

X

"Watch my back." Mark ordered as he knelt beside the corpse. Since the armory and evidence locker had been ransacked, the groups only source of ammo came from the rather morbid task of taking it off dead police officers.

Mark, unfortunately having been forced into it years previously to preserve his own life in the jungles, did all the work. Even then all they could find was handgun ammo. He pulled three handgun clips of the waist of a officer while the other three kept watch. "That's another fourty five." He said, handing two clips to Yoko and tucking one in his pocket. They set off cautiously down the hallway. David noticed something on the corpse of a female officer: A small, Browning handgun. He scooped it and the clips up and observed the one loaded, full clip. He handed it to Yoko.

"Low recoil and smaller grip." He explained at her confused face. She carefully took the pistol from him. The small girl wasn't a fighter, but she still needed to be able to defend herself, and the bulky 92 Beretta Kevin had given her wouldn't cut it. The group turned down another hallway, this one littered with five corpses.

"This'll help." Mark said. While David stood watch Jim hung back. He wasn't going to get near those bodies, they might pop up again. Jim stiffened in fear as he heard something behind him. Something was moving behind him, he could sense it. He could hear it breathing. Jim considered calling out to the others ahead, but then it might attack. Quivering, Jim looked over his shoulder.

"Oh my god!" He screamed. A sickly pink creature was hanging from the ceiling, its large brain sticking out. The creature jerked its head in Jim's direction; revealing a blank face with no eyes, only sharp teeth. Jim brought his gun up but the creature was faster. It's tongue lashed out and rapped itself around Jim's neck and hoisted him into the air. The gun clattered to the floor as Jim tried desperately to pry himself free. Yoko screamed and David and Mark spun around. With surprising speed, David brought out his pocketknife and ran forward. Grabbing the creatures tongue with his left hand, he cut it clean off with the knife. Jim fell to the floor and the creature screeched in pain. Mark fired two shots. They hit the creature's exposed brain, splattering up across the ceiling. The creature fell to the floor; shaking violently, it let out a high pitch screech and went still. Jim unwrapped the severed tongue from his neck, swearing.

"What the fuck did I do to deserve this?! He threw the tongue to the ground and Mark and David helped him up. Due to his legs shaking, it took Jim a few minutes to stand on his own. He picked his gun up while Mark went to examine the monster.

"These must be those lickers that cop was talking about." Mark said. Jim touched his neck, it wasn't bleeding but it was sore.

"Shit." He muttered. Did that mean he was infected? No, he couldn't die here! There was a moan and the group spun around. All five of the corpses had stood up, and to add two more had stumbled in from down the hallway.

"Shit!" Jim took off running. There were to many, Mark decided.

"Go!" He yelled. David grabbed Yoko and ran off after Jim. Mark fired three shots down the hall before retreating after them. The zombie's moans echoed after them.

X

Kevin pushed the door open slowly and poked his head and gun in. "Clear." He called. He walked in. The interrogation room was a wreck, a fallen locker was laying by the door, and tables had been over turned. But in the middle of the floor was another plate.

"That makes three." Cindy said picking it up. They'd found another one just earlier on the second floor before retracing their steps to the first again.

"Okay, lets go find the other two." He walked out of the room back into the hallway. Suddenly a zombie burst through the window next to him and grabbed his shoulder. Kevin threw it off and raised his gun, but George fired first. The zombie was knocked back into the night and disappeared.

"Whew, thanks George." Kevin dusted off his shoulder and looked out the window below and saw the corpse twitching below. Kevin flipped it off before turning back to the hallway. The group made it's way down another set of hallways. At the back of the group, Cindy looked over her shoulder.

"Strange, I thought I heard something." She kept walking. She looked back again. She could swear she heard something breathing… Something slimy wrapped itself around her right ankle. She screamed as it pulled her legs out from under her and she fell to the floor. The other three spun around.

"What the hell?!" Alyssa exclaimed Kevin brought his gun up and fired repeatedly. Somewhere behind her, Cindy heard something hit the floor and screech loudly. She looked over her shoulder and jumped. It was a pink creature, strangely humanoid in appearance, with a exposed brain. A long, pink tongue stretched out of its mouth. Kevin unwrapped it from her ankle and helped her up.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah." Cindy stuttered, still slightly shaken at the demonic-appearing creature. George went up to examine the creature, mostly studying its exposed brain.

"Well doc, what do you make of it?" Kevin asked. "It's one of those lickers?" George shook his head.

"I'm a medical expert, but I don't see how this is even remotely possible, by all means of logic this creature shouldn't be able to live." Kevin pondered this. George also seemed distressed at not understanding it.

"Well, we've seen a lot of weird stuff." Kevin reminded him. "But we can worry later, like Marvin said, time is short, we need to get those other plates." He wondered where they were more likely to find them. "The lower levels." He decided. There was more storage down there. "Keep up, and keep those guns ready." He ordered.

X

"Help! HELP!" Jim's voice echoed down the hallway. David and Yoko had tried to follow him, but the cowardly twit ran to fast. They came to the end of the hallway and looked both ways. Jim was struggling with a zombie, trying desperately to keep it from biting him. David walked up behind the zombie and ruthlessly stabbed his knife into the back of its head. The zombie fell backward to the floor. "I ain't cut out for this shit." Jim whined, holding onto a wall for support. Mark showed up at that instant, panting.

"Can't wait for an old man?" He asked, and then straightened up. "Good, we're all okay."

"Well maybe YOUR okay, but I ain't." Jim panted. Yoko also looked tired and pale. She leaned against David for support. The older man didn't object.

"It gets easier with time, soldier." Mark told him. The turned to Yoko and David. "Lets go, we still need to find more weaponry." They continued along the hallway Jim had blundered into, rounding a corner to reveal a door and a stair case. The door proved to be the station's night room. It had already been ransacked. They quickly slammed the door as a zombie raised it's head from it's roost.

"Downstairs." David motioned. They all paused at the top. The hallway below was dark, and only faint light seemed to give guidance to any explorers.

"No point waiting." Mark told them. "Let's go."


	5. Desperate Times II

XX A/N: It's harder finding time to fix this then I originally imagined. My sincerest apologies. XX

The last were always the best hidden, Kevin thought. The group was searching the lower levels of the station, having taken a momentary break in the night room above. Kevin's hand rested for a second on the door for the morgue. He looked back at the other three, who looked somewhat scared. He couldn't blame them: he was twitchy himself. But it had to be done. Signaling the others, he counted to three and pushed the door open slowing. He peered inside. There it was! Right next to the body lockers. Perfect. Kevin thought sarcastically.

"Watch out here." He ordered Cindy and George. He motioned for Alyssa to follow him. They both cautiously entered the small, cold room. Kevin motioned for Alyssa to stay by the door and cover him. He slowly and quietly crept towards the plate. One wrong move and there would be no escape. He moved around a table and a couple of stretchers and made his way towards the table. He froze. At the food as the table was a corpse. He hesitated, what if it was just sleeping? Had to be done if they were to survive, he reminded his self.

He motioned to the plate. Alyssa looked at him with a 'are you insane?' look. Kevin grinned in response. Quietly, with his gun on the corpse, he edged up to the table. He slowly reached out with his left hand for the plate.

As his fingers wrapped around it the zombie sudden lurched at his foot. Kevin fired and the zombie's head splattered all over his boots. The body bag on one of the stretchers suddenly began twisting and wiggling. Two of the freezer doors burst open and zombies began climbing out. "Shit!" Kevin threw himself over the table and ran for the door. "Run! Go!" He ordered to the others. He closed the doors behind him and the four of them took off. Behind them, the zombies moaned hungrily.

X

There could be a lot here to find." Mark mused. The group had neglected to stay in the lower level passages for long; owing to the poor lighting and tight space. Instead, they'd continued to the R.P.D. garage. Police cars that hadn't been deployed or were broken down were still there. They may be supplies in there…

They set to work. David reached into one cruiser and came out holding a Remington 780 shotgun. He seemed to take a liking to it and grabbed some shells from the car and put them in his pockets. Mark meanwhile had managed to find four handguns and nearly ninety bullets. Evidently this place had yet to be plundered.

"Hey guys!" Jim called excitedly; waving for them to came over where he was in front of the large shutter keeping them from the ramp. Jim pointed excitedly in. A S.P.F van was parked awkwardly just behind the gate. Its back doors were open, revealing a large amount of heavy weapons. "If we can get those we're set for life!" Jim said. He looked around for a switch to open the shutter, but didn't find one. Mark observed the contents of the van. Putting the question of why they were there out of his mind for now, he reflected that it would help tremendously if they could get those guns.

"Give me a hand." He told David. Together, the two men tried to manually lift the gate, but they could only get it up a few inches. "You two are small, crawl under there." Mark ordered Jim and Yoko. They both seemed scared at the idea but complied.

The two let the gate drop when Yoko was under. Jim ran to the van as if it was a bank vault. He grabbed two guns and ran back, handing them to Mark and David through the bars. Mark examined the assault rife: A M4, cut down version of the M16. Wasn't much different from his gun in Nam. He put the sling on and checked the fire selector and set it to single shot. The other gun was a H&K MP5 Submachine gun. Jim and Yoko quickly emptied the van, piling their findings at the gate. Yoko looked further up the ramp.

"There's another van up there." She called back.

"Go look, but be careful." Mark told them. They quickly emptied the second van. By the time the group had looted the vans there was a large piled of automatic weapons, handguns, and well over five hundred rounds.

"There are enough bullets here to win a war!" Jim said excitedly, stuffing as many handgun clips as he could into his pockets. Mark took five handgun clips and twelve assault rifle clips. David grabbed twenty-four shotgun shells and Yoko grabbed three handgun clips. The door they had came through opened and the group spun around.

"Will you just shut up?" Kevin said. "We got it, didn't we?"

"Excuse me?" Alyssa shot back at him.

"Guys…" Cindy tried to calm them down.

"Hey!" Mark called. The four of them stopped and jerked their heads toward them, raising weapons.

"Where'd you get that?" Kevin pointed to the assault rifle with his free hand. Mark motioned them over to the weapons pile. "Sweet." Kevin commented as he grabbed a MP5.

"Wow, nice work guys." Cindy said.

"Thanks, what about those plates?" Mark asked. Each of them held one out.

"We still need to find the last one." Kevin explained. He grabbed seven clips for the machine gun and twelve for his .45. Alyssa grabbed as much scattershot as she could and two handgun clips for the gun Mark had given her at J's Bar. George grabbed five handgun clips. Since skirts didn't have pockets, Cindy was very short on ways to carry extra ammo. She tucked two clips into the front pocket of her shirt.

"I'd say we're armed well enough." Mark said as Yoko scooped some of the left over ammo into her bag. The larger guns were left with some ammo since no one else had the necessary experience to use them. Aside from that, some future survivors may need the arms.

"I agree. Take some to Marvin, Fred, and Aaron, then meet us in the main hall." Kevin said.

"Sounds like a plan." Mark agreed. The part of four headed back.

"Oh! There are zombies that broke out of the morgue!" Cindy called after them. In response, David cocked his new shotgun.

X

Kevin walked through the door, slightly more confident now that he had a better gun. This hallway let to the dog kennels and the holding cells. If the plate wasn't here they were S.O.L cause there was nowhere else accessible in the station. A inhumane shriek sounded through the narrow hallway. That sounded like Tony… the dogs! Kevin ran ahead to the kennel and flung himself through the door.

"No Charlie! Gah!" Tony was lying on the floor in a corner, his blue uniform shredded. Two infected Dobermans were tearing the flesh from his bones. Kevin fired two controlled bursts at the dogs, knocking them both off the wounded man. One got back up and growled at Kevin. The rest howled and barked in their cages; They were all infected.

"Tony!" Kevin knelt beside the wounded man. The other three rushed in behind him but stopped when they realized the room was full of dogs.

"Kevin," he coughed up a bit of blood. "I tried to help them, but I was too late…"

"George, get over here!" Kevin ordered.

"No…" Tony said weakly. "Its too late for me.. just- He coughed violently, spitting up blood.

"Tony?" Kevin asked. Tony gave a last sputtering cough and slumped down. "Tony!" Kevin tried to wake his friend up but to no avail. A Doberman burst out of its cage and charged at Kevin. Kevin grabbed a hold of its head as it lurched at him. The dog yelped as Kevin snapped its neck with anger induced violence.

"Hurry up! We can't stay here!" Alyssa backed out the door. Kevin looked at his friend's corpse one more time and followed. When they were back out in the hallway he slammed his first on the wall.

"Damn it! This is killing too many good people." He rested his head on the wall. How many more? He thought. Cindy put a hand on his shoulder.

"But there are still others you can save." She said trying to cheer him up. Kevin looked up. She had a point. They were all still behind him. He could still ensure they escaped at the very least.

"Yeah… your right… Lets go find that plate!"

X

"Quite an arsenal you guys assembled." Marvin commented as he took some handgun clips from Yoko's bag. Rita took some as well.

"The others almost got those plates?" She asked. Mark nodded.

"Good." Marvin said. He handed Yoko's bad back to her. "Go give some to Fred and Aaron, and tell them to come back down here. We need to discuss a defensive strategy; this building won't hold up much longer.

"We'll get right on it." Mark promised.

X

"Ben."

"Alyssa." A thick and hostile silence hung in the air. As it turns out, the last plate was in the holding block, but it was in the hands of no one other then her friend Ben Bertolucci, who was at the moment being a real asshole.

"Look, this is police business, people could die!" Kevin tried reasoning.

"The police are corrupt. And besides, everyone is going to end up dead anyway."

Alyssa growled in frustration. "Okay, but tell me this: What's stopping me from coming in there and kicking your ass? Better yet, why don't I just shoot you?" Much to her surprise, his smug expression didn't disappear. He pulled a key out his pocket.

"I got the only key to the cell." Alyssa felt her temper rising. "However…" Said Ben, "I think we can work out a deal…."

X

"Hello?" Mark called out. They were in the side yard. But the thing was Aaron wasn't. Mark entered cautiously. A low fence was all that separated this enclosing from the zombie-infested streets. The coast for clear.

For now…

"Shit man, I think they got him." Jim said. It was probably true.

"We need to get to the roof before they cut this route off. C'mon." Mark didn't linger on the cops disappearance for too long.

They made their way up to the rooftop. However upon stepping though the doorway, they came to the sight of Fred's severely mutilated body. By the looks of it he had been pecked to death trying to get through the door. Mark and a reluctant Jim carried Fred's body a little ways off. Once the awkward task was finished Mark glanced towards the far end of the roof, where a stairwell led to the ground.

"Damn." He remarked quietly; their defenses were useless. He turned to the others. "Let's get back before this area is overrun."

X

"I must say you have interesting friends." Kevin commented dryly. Ben would give them the plate, but first they needed to find a certain file for him. He had told them he left it in the generator room. Though now the group had to fight through the same zombies that had got up earlier. Kevin another burst into the face of a zombie officer. "We need to hurry, got knows how long till the ones on the outside get here." He kicked open the door and moved inside, aiming around for zombies. The room was dark and quiet. They all began searching the shelves for the document. The generator hummed behind them. Cindy was the first the find it. She held out the thick brown folder. Alyssa opened it, revealing contents concerning R.P.D. finance records.

Definitely Ben. It was only a five minute walk back to the cell.

"Eh deals a deal." Ben tossed the plate. "Good luck with whatever your planning."

"Don't you want to escape?" Kevin asked.

"I'm safe here." He said. "Good luck with that, though."

"And have fun getting eaten alive, asshole" Alyssa muttered under her breath as they walked away. The final plate in their hands, they set off for the lobby.

X

"I'm sorry." Mark finished. Marvin and Rita hung their heads down. Mark had just explained the disappearance of the other two officers. A door opened behind them and they saw the other party arrive.

"We got the plates!" Kevin said. He stopped when he noticed their faces.

"Fred and Aaron are dead." Marvin said flatly. Kevin hung his head down.

"Tony's gone too…" Kevin told them.

"All the more reason to save everyone still here." Marvin said. They all went over to the large statue that was the stations centerpiece. Carefully, they worked the plates into the stone circle on the front. Once the last piece clicked in the all waited. The statue shifted, then rose. A long dark tunnel now was visible.

"It actually worked!" Jim exclaimed.

"That's a ventilation shaft?" Alyssa asked skeptically. Rita cautiously lowered herself into the fountain. She shouldn't have much trouble fitting through. Marvin handed a radio.

" Call in when you find help, but be careful, it has a short range." He explained. Rita nodded.

"I promise I'll get help." Without the slightest hesitation she started crawling into the vent. They all watched her form disappear. A moment later the stature lowered itself again. Marvin turned to the group.

"She's gone, but we need to stay alive till she gets back. What's the rest of the station like?" Marvin inquired.

"Our perimeter is breached." Mark said flatly. "Those things can move through the helipad and emergency stairwell with ease."

"The hallway to the interrogation room is the same." Kevin admitted. "The whole damn east wing is lost."

"Damn." Marvin shook his head. "The west wing is fine though, the shutters were down last time anyone was in there."

"So the east wing and the front gate are our only weak points?" Mark asked. Marvin nodded.

"What do we do?" Cindy asked.

"Wouldn't the logical course be to block the path?" George suggested.

"Yeah…we can move the desks from the office into the hallway!" Kevin beat his fist in his palm. "It'll block off all three routes!"

"But what about the front gate?" Jim asked accusingly. "You saw it earlier! All of them just-

"There are wooden boards on the roof." Marvin cut in. "They can be used to reinforce the gate." Mark looked around at the suvivors.

"It's risky, but we should be able to punch through before they take the area. David, Alyssa, come with me!" He ordered.

"George, can you help we barricade the halls?" Kevin asked. The doctor nodded. "Alright, let's hurry up before we become zombie chow!"


	6. Desperate Times III

XX A/N XX

Sorry for lateness folks, but for some odd reason the more I read my earlier chapters again, the more scenes I rewrite in them. I also apologize if the text gets jumbled; it happens during the upload for some reason.

X

"Don't touch me!" Alyssa growled. The zombie was blasted into several large chunks. Already, the fence that had surrounded the emergency staircase had collapsed from the weight of zombies constantly climbing at it. But since Aaron was gone, most of the zombies had retreated from the opening. But the ruckus they were making would surely attract them back.

"Hurry up!" Mark called, already moving up the stairs. The other two followed him. Alyssa huffed; she could respect the old man for his seriousness, but he seemed to forget they were civilians sometimes. David made no audible complaint.

They quickly jogged down the hallway that led to the rooftop. Mark shouldered the door open and stepped into the cold air, moving his rifle around rapidly. Fred's body had already walked off, but the roof was deserted.

The boards that Marvin had mentioned were behind a metal gate directly to their left. David used his foot to open the gate. Five wooden boards where propped against the wall. Mark grabbed three, David two, and they all hurried back down stairs. They ran into trouble on the emergency stairwell this time.

"Shit." Mark dropped the boards and brought up his gun. Zombies had returned to the area, including the lost corpse of Aaron. "Sorry." Mark didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. David and Alyssa's shotguns proved effective in thinning the rest of the crowd. But the noise also attracted more of the monsters.

"Let's go!" Alyssa shouted. They pick up the boards and quickly hurried back downstairs and into the building. Part of the office was already ransacked, and whey discovered the door nearly pinned when they got back into the hallway.

"Watch where you're swinging those!" Kevin complained while pushing a filing cabinet in front of the door. Some desks had been piled in front as well, virtually blocking off the wing from both the interrogation room hallway and the office.

"It won't hold for long." Mark warned. "I hope Rita is quick."

"She'll be here any minute." Kevin scoffed. "She's a police officer."

"They haven't done any good in the past." David grunted. Kevin glared.

"Let's just get those boards up!" He ushered them out of the hallway, casting a look back at their flimsy barricade before stepping back into the main lobby.

The others looked up at their return. Kevin loudly assured them that things were working out before rushing out the front door. The iron gate that had long protected the building was shaking violently as zombies banged on it with their fists. Marvin was standing outside and turned to meet them. He nodded approvingly.

Before they could get the boards up, they had to clear away the zombies. Fortunately, the crowd was thin and was quickly dispatched. Mark and David quickly began placing boards over the gate.

"Any word from Rita?" Kevin asked, not taking his sights off the gate.

"No." Marvin too stayed focus. "But she's tough." Kevin nodded agreement, almost laughing.

"She's definitely tough for someone her size." Kevin stepped back when Mark and David finished. A lone zombie wandered up, then two. They all started hammering on the gate. Instead of shaking, the gate stayed firmly still.

"Good job." Marvin complimented.

"Let's get inside." Mark urged. "It ain't wise to be out in the open."

"I'll stay out here." Marvin declined. "Kevin, make sure everyone in there stays safe. We're not losing anyone now." Kevin nodded determinedly. Back inside, the atmosphere was tense, but pockets of conversation had sprung up.

In one corner of the room Jim and Mark were talking.

"Shit man, there are over a hundred out there, we can't fight them all." At the realization of how close the zombies were, Jim had nearly been willing to just run and jump off the roof.

"Let me tell you a story." Mark said. "Back in Nam, my platoon and me spent a whole day trapped on a hill. NVA came from all directions, nearly five hundred of them. We fought through the day and the night and made it out the next day with no casualties. Never give up hope, you got me solider? Even if the odds are against us we can still make it out." He said firmly. Elsewhere was other worried conversation.

"Do you think she'll come back?" Cindy asked.

"Hell if I know." Alyssa responded dully. "All I know is I'm not dying here."

"Where will we go if she doesn't though?" Yoko asked quietly.

"Not sure kid, we'll run through the streets if we need to." Alyssa looked up a the door. "As long as we can get into the streets that is…" Kevin and George were having a more scientific discussion.

"How the hell does Umbrella make something like this?" Kevin wondered. George had been thinking about that quite often. Umbrella had created a number of medical marvels, First Aid Spray, for instance. Though a surgeon, George's education at the University had taught him a fair amount of biology.

"It may be at the cellular level." George suggested; all medicine started at that level.

"What the hell could it even be used for?"

"You must admit, it does have amazing regeneration capabilities." George pointed out. Kevin snorted.

"It may be a good idea, but I'm not convinced." George didn't argue. In truth, he had doubts the 'T-virus'(virus being the key word), or any of the other things S.T.A.R.S had made claims off, were meant for medical purposes. X

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into what seemed like hours. Outside, Marvin still stood guard, watching three zombies weakly pounding on the front gate. He had considered shooting them, but it might only attract more. Besides, the boards placed over the gate were holding it firmly closed. His radio crackled to life.

"Marvin? Marvin?" Rita's fuzzy voice came through.

"Rita! You made it! Have you got help?" He stood up and paced around, greatly relieved at the blonds' accented voice.

"Yes, I'm on my way back now, just wait for me. We'll pull the van up to the front gate, so gather everyone there. But we can't stay for long." Marvin nodded to himself the entire time, even if no one was around to see.

"Roger, hurry back." He clicked the radio and stopped pacing. Help was coming, now he just had to tell the others. Suddenly a pair of cold hands grabbed him.

X

Everyone jumped as gunshots sounded outside. "Marvin!" Kevin ran out the doors like a bat out of hell. Two zombies lay dead on the ground; another feasted on Marvin's shoulder. Marvin managed to bring his gun up and shoot the zombie through the head before stumbling backwards. Kevin and George grabbed him and helped pull him inside.

"They snuck up on me!" Marvin coughed. They set him in front of the fountain. George quickly started examining the injuries. 'Listen, Rita's on her way, we just need to stay put till then." Marvin explained. Meanwhile David went back out front to investigate where the zombies had come from.

Venturing into the dark side yard, he noticed an old, rusted gate that might've have been previously been used by a gardener. He shook his head; how could they have been stupid enough to miss it?

He quickly went to find Mark so they could solve this new flaw, but once he reached the gate again, he reared back in surprise; there were nearly twenty zombies now pounding at the gate. He went inside and tapped Mark on the shoulder before nearly pushing the elderly guard outside.

"That ain't good." Mark said in a calm, but defeated voice. "Guys!" He pointed to the gate.

"Oh fuck!" Jim exclaimed, backing towards the back of the lobby. Yoko and Cindy backed up as well.

"Patch Marvin up, we'll hold them off!" Kevin said as he walked out front, a fiery look in his eyes as he lifted his gun up. Mark, David, and Alyssa followed him out. Cindy knelt beside George and also examined Marvin's injuries.

"You have medical experience?" George asked. He had noticed the young blond offering first aid to wounded families or children back at the fire station.

"No, I am good in first aid and herbal medicine though." She replied. George nodded; most of the medicines the hospital used were made out of the naturally restorative herbs that grew in the region.

"Someone find us a first aid kit!" George ordered. Yoko and Jim quickly began searching the front desk for one. Meanwhile outside the situation was out of control. More and more zombies were stumbling down the street and pounding at the gate and even the precision headshots Mark and Kevin were delivering wasn't thinning the massive crowd.

"Shit, we need to- Kevin was cut off as the boards broke in half and the rusty padlock finally gave way and the horde flung themselves through the gate at the group. They all began firing aimlessly into the hoard. Blood, flesh, and bullets flew through the air; the ground became stained with red.

"Stand your ground! We can't get pushed inside!" Mark called out.

"No shit!" Alyssa retorted, her voice shaking. She fired more scattershot into the mass. They were all dead now, but more were coming. From down the street, the sides, for all they knew they might start coming from behind. There were nearly 100,000 people in this city, and right now it seemed all of them were attacking the police station. Inside Jim was hysteric.

"I'm gonna die!" He screamed, pulling on his hair. Yoko hung cautiously away from the rest of the group; every now and then she would run up and give someone some bullets, but not firing for fear of wasting bullets. The flow of zombies was low enough that they could all be dispatched, but the flow itself never seemed to stop.

George and Cindy weren't having to much luck with Marvin. Despite their efforts the shoulder wound just didn't seem to clot. The lack of adequate supplies in the First Aid kit didn't help either. The bodies were piling up outside. But the incoming mass still seemed infinite.

"Shit." Kevin muttered as he was forced to reload his gun. This wasn't good. Now if only the rest of the S.P.F was here; If they could handle drug busts and warrants they could definitely handle this. But they were dead, and they had to do with whatever and whoever was available.

Back inside Jim was still pacing and muttering under his breath, seemingly oblivious to his teammates fight. He stopped as he saw a red blur out of the corner of his eye. Fearfully, he looked up. Three lickers were clinging to the roof, undoubtedly drawn by the gunfire.

Jim aimed up and shot. One licker fell from the roof and hit the hard and cold tile floor with a sickening splat. Another licker jumped and landed on the head of the statue right above Marvin, Cindy, and George. Cindy ducked as the licker lashed its tongue out. She and George returned fire. Hit repeatedly, the licker fell forward into the fountain. The last had been crawling quickly to avoid being hit. Marvin raised his own gun and hit the licker square in the head. It fell to the ground. Marvin forced himself up.

"There isn't anything else you can do, just go help the others!" He ordered. George seemed to realize the truth in the statement and went to help the others, but only after making sure everyone he could do had been done. Cindy stayed, mainly to keep Jim and Yoko calm; the lickers had shaken the two younger adults.

"Marvin okay?" Kevin asked as George came up to his right and started firing.

"We did what we could." George said carefully. "Will he be okay?" Kevin asked sharply.

"He was bitten, I am not sure what he caught but the wounds are having trouble clotting. There aren't enough medical supplies either."

"Great." Kevin through gritted teeth.

"It's only his shoulder." George went on, "He can still walk out with the rest of us when help arrives." The news seemed to put Kevin at ease.

Inside, Jim was eyeing Marvin. Mark had said when the bar cook had been bit he'd turned into one and the cops that had disappeared had. Wouldn't he then?

Suddenly the door in the back has knocked open. Several zombies began lumbering out. Jim brought his gun up and fired. But, mostly due to his shaking hands, the bullets missed their heads. Marvin too was firing, having slightly more luck despite his injured shoulder. Yoko and Cindy also tried firing into the group. They now had enemies coming from all directions, and at a rapidly increasing pace. David's shotgun clicked, all shells exhausted. Not missing a beat, the plumber spun in around and, gripping the barrel like a bat, bashed in the head of a zombie.

Out the gate and down the street, a pair of headlights appeared, growing progressively brighter. Help had arrived. The large SWAT van turned around and backed into the gate, crushing a lone zombie in the process. The doors flung open, revealing Rita. Upon seeing the situation, she pulled out her own gun.

"Get in, hurry!" Rita called. Jim was the first in, literally hurling himself past the others into the van.

"Ever heard of ladies first?" Alyssa said irritably, climbing up her self then helping Yoko up. Mark and Kevin held of the zombies from the sides while Cindy then George climbed in. David climbed in next. Kevin nodded to Mark who then retreated into the van. Kevin climbed in but stopped when he realized something. Where was Marvin? He jerked his head to George and Cindy; they'd been watching after him.

"Is this everyone? Where's Marvin?" Rita spoke the question. He screamed as a zombie crawled out from under the van and grabbed at her foot. A gunshot blew a hole through its head and it fell back. Marvin stood in the station doorway. He clutched a large new stomach wound with his left hand but still held his gun in his right.

"Move!" He called. "Go Go Go!" Kevin and Rita immediately realized what he was trying to do.

"No way! I ain't leaving you behind!" Rita said stubbornly.

"Don't worry about me, just go!" He ordered. Kevin wasn't going to accept that; Marvin had said they weren't losing anyone. He prepared to jump down and go grab Marvin himself, but at that moment the van lurched forward and Kevin had to hold on just to keep from falling out. The van sped away down the street, away from the R.P.D. and away from Marvin.

"Marvin!" Rita cried. But it was to late. The station disappear from view as the van sped away.


	7. Underbelly I

A/N: It's only now that I realize just how much time it takes to write a story; let alone edit one. This chapter is fairly short. To be honest, altering the original versions too much just spoils the story's significance in my mind.

X

September 26th, 11:23 P.M

The van sped down the street, swerving occasionally to avoid wreckage and abandoned vehicles. In the back was a guilty silence, broken only but Rita's sobs. Everyone felt guilty; they'd left behind the man that had given so much to help them escape.

Kevin had been absolutely pissed, first yelling at Harry, then at George and Cindy. But there was nowhere to place the blame. Harry either had to move or be surrounded. And Cindy had explained, shakily, that Marvin had ordered them to go and that he would be right behind them. He'd stayed behind on his own will. Kevin tried offering some words of encouragement to his distressed co-worker.

"Marvin's a tough guy, he'll be fine." Though this still didn't calm Rita down. She probably blamed it all on herself. Kevin himself was stuck between admiring Marvin for his heroism, or despising him for lying to them. Kevin was mostly angry with himself though. Why the hell couldn't he do more to help?!

The silence was unbroken for some time before someone said anything.

"Excuse me, but where are we going?" Mark asked Harry. The cop shook his head.

"I don't know, as far as I can tell there's no one left."

"What about the S.P.F?" Kevin asked. "Rita said they were already dispatched. Harry shook his head.

"Dead, they tried to hold a vital barricade but got overwhelmed."

"What?!" Kevin asked. The whole unit wiped out? It was impossible. He didn't want to accept it. His co-workers, his friends… They should be able to handle a job as easy as this!

"Can the police do anything in this town?" Jim asked, slightly annoyed.

"Hey shut up!" Kevin retorted. He rubbed his head. This was unreal, everyone was dead, he was probably the last S.P.F. member left. The notion poked a large hole in his demeanor.

"Oh my god!" Harry suddenly jerked the van left, hard. Everyone held on. There was a jolting crash and the sound of crunching metal as the van collided with a parked car. The survivors was tossed to and fro, bumping in to each other. By dumb luck, no one got stabbed with a knife and no gun discharged.

"What the hell?" Alyssa asked, rubbing her head. Harry screamed as three pairs of rotting hands reached through the windshield and grabbed him. Before Kevin could even aim him gun through the small window and save him, he was pulled through the windshield, his flesh and uniform tearing of the sharp glass.

"Get out! Go!" Kevin ordered. Everyone spilled out into the street. Yoko gasped. They were surrounded, at least seventy zombies lumbering at them from all around. Everyone began firing. It seemed like they'd gone straight out of the frying pan and into the fire. Jim swung his gun back and forth, unsure of what to shoot. Shit, shit! Why did these things always happen to him? He fired once, managing to hit one in the head.

"Booyah bitch!" He laughed, then froze up again, there were still dozens approaching, they're disgusting hands groping wildly at him. One's arm fell off from the constant motion.

. Jim swallowed. If he stayed here he was as good as dead. Survival was the only thing that existed in his mind at that moment. He looked around frantically for a escape route.

There! A narrow space between two buildings that Jim was sure led to the next street. He took off. The others should be fine; they were bettered trained for this stuff right? Right? His conscious wasn't really awake now anyway. He ran out into another street, but it was just as infested! Slightly panicked now, Jim kept running, dodging between the undead that greedily reached out at his flesh. He ducked into an alleyway. Panting now, he tried to catch his breath. More footsteps. Jim looked up in surprise to see Mark, Alyssa, and David.

"Where are the others?" He asked, slightly confused at why they had followed him.

"They aren't with you?" Alyssa asked, sweat tricking down her face. A zombie charged at them from the street, only to get a right hook from David, who then smashed his boot into the creatures face. More, however, approached.

"Keep moving!" Mark ordered, taking command. Jim didn't need to be told twice. Mark fired several shots into the advancing hoard while David and Alyssa tried to thin the next street. They were surrounded on both sides, trapped in this damn alley. "Shit, push through!" Mark called. He swung around and began firing into the next street. Jim looked up and down for any possible escape routes. His heart jumped for joy when he saw subway entrance. The subway! They couldn't have possibly got down there. Home! Sanctuary!

"Guys! Follow me!" He called he took off for the entrance; glancing behind him to make sure they were following. He dodged a zombie that attempted to grab him from a car window. Just a little further… He ran down the steps, praying that for once that shutter was still jammed up. It was! There was a small opening between the shutter and the ground. Jim dived and scurried under. David was the next under, then Alyssa, and finally Mark crawled under, panting. He and David quickly forced the shutter down, somehow un-jamming it.

"Okay, now can you tell us what the hell the point in coming here was?" Alyssa asked, slightly annoyed as always.

"I work here, this place is sure to be safe!" Jim explained.

"You work here?" Alyssa raised a skeptical eyebrow as she noted the dark, crowded, and menacing feel of the place.

"Yep, my home away from home." Jim said. Mark stood up, still slightly tired from the run.

"We're missing five people." He reminded them. Their spirits sank. Kevin, Cindy, George, Yoko, and Rita were still up there.

"Well, didn't you see them?" Jim demanded. He couldn't stomach the fact that they'd left more people to die by those monsters.

"Lost sight of them in the crowds, we saw you running and we thought you were following the others." Mark explained.

"But since you weren't that means you were abandoning us!" Alyssa accused. Jim raised his hands in defense at her and David's glares. His eyes bulged when he noticed their fingers hovering near the triggers on their guns.

"Hey man, we would've died staying there, besides, we're safe aren't we?" He defended himself feebly.

"But we don't know if the others are." David reminded him coldly.

"Hey man I feel guilty enough already! So don't remind me."

"They're smart, and they got two skilled fighters, we should trust them to stand on their own." Mark interrupted. His words seemed to ease their guilt about the others, at least for the moment. "They'll survive on their own. In the mean time we need to worry about ourselves." He turned to Jim. "Is there anything down here?" He asked. Jim nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, in the break room there are beds and vending machines we can live off for a few days." He reached into his pocket. It was likely that he'd lost his employee key through the adventures so far but somehow it was still there. He pulled it out his pocket. "Follow me!"

Jim led the way through the deserted station. It looked a lot different without the usual crowds. For the first time ever Jim felt a little apprehensive about this place. He wondered what had happened to all his colleagues, Rick, Mary, had they all been killed? He fought the thought away. He didn't want to consider it now. He saw the all-to familiar door marked 'Employees Only' and unlocked it. He pushed his way through into the stone hallways that made up the employee area. The break room was right up ahead on the left. He pushed open the door. For the first time in days he felt at peace, at home. "Welcome, welcome!" Jim stood aside to let everyone in. Mark and David cautiously looked around.

Jim simply walked up to the vending machine. Seeing as their last meal had been some donuts and coffee at the police station nearly sixteen hours ago, he was really hungry. Jim fished into his pockets for some change. He frowned. All he felt was his precious lucky coin that he'd had since he was a kid. Hell would freeze over before he used that. David motioned him to stand back.

"Hey, what are you-" The glass cover shattered as David hit it roughly with his elbow. "Thanks!" Jim grabbed a bag of chips.

"Why do I have a feeling you've done that before?" Alyssa commented. David said nothing. After a (very) late dinner (if it could be called that). The group were resting on the beds. Jim laid stretched out on one, his eyes feeling heavier each second. Escaping a police station besieged by zombies really tired you out. The terror of the situation and his worry about the others had faded away with his energy.

"You guys can go head and rest." Mark pulled out a chair and sat down. "I'll stay on guard for a while." Jim yawned, in his opinion there was no point, what could possibly be down here? They were safe, no zombies, and no freaky creatures with long tongues, only peace. As such, he eventually drifted into a peaceful sleep.

The others had a brief conversation after Jim had fallen asleep.

"You really thing they're okay?" Alyssa tapped her arm from the bunk she was on. However ridiculous it seemed, she'd almost developed a sisterly relationship with Yoko during the time they'd been talking in the police station, and now she found herself worried about the small girl's safety. Kevin seemed too cocky to protect anyone. Alyssa personally found it amazing how close they'd seemingly become in the past days.

"I'm sure they are; they're all strong." Mark insisted. Hardened by years in Nam', he showed no outward signs of guilt. He sounded certain enough for the others to believe him.

"So what now?" David asked. He didn't take his eyes off of his knife he was sharpening.

"We'll work it out in the morning." Mark assured. Jim's optomism didn't fool any of them. This place wasn't safe. No where was safe. "You two get some rest. We'll have to work again tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe we'll find the others."

X

A/N: On my deviant art account, I've also have a story concerning a Outbreak-Operation Raccoon City crossover. But it is a side project, and I've only uploaded two chapters since starting it four months ago. Still, I'm considering posting it here as well once I upload the completed Outbreak story.


	8. Underbelly II

XX Author's Note XX

I do apologize for the delay; school exams. But now that Christmas break has arrived, I may find the time to do at least twenty chapters before the new year.

September 27th 3:17 A.M

Mark Wilkins was usually one to never show panic or weakness. Both of those would only lower your chances for survival. He'd learn that, amongst other things, in Nam'. But at the moment he couldn't help it. Unbeknownst to the other members of this makeshift fire team, Mark Wilkins was very worried. Worried for his family.

As he had learned at the police station, these strange events had been occurring since the morning of the 24th. That meant his wife and son could've been attacked. It was disturbing to think about, so much the security guard couldn't sleep. He could only pray they had made it out before everything had descended into chaos. That was why he fought now. He was old; he shouldn't have to go through hell twice. But he did, he did in the hope when the nightmare was over he could see his family again.

Jim snored loudly behind him. Truthfully, Mark found him a liability, but he was understanding: Jim was just scared; Mark had dealt with similar cases in Vietnam. Alyssa, she was pushy and commanding, but she could fight and Mark was sure she'd help them if they absolutely needed it. David, well Mark had a hard time labeling him. While Mark found him easy to work with, David was far too quiet. It was slightly unnatural. His skill with knives also gave off a uneasy feeling. But he wouldn't just sit and watch someone die. He was a good person, even with the tough guy look.

Mark jerked up suddenly. He'd heard something, faint, but it was there. Had the zombies gotten in? He stood up and checked his rifle to make sure the safety was off. He waited. Somewhere in the distance there was a scream, a women, it echoed throughout the empty station. Someone else was down here! And they were under attack! Behind him David jumped off the bed, awoken. Alyssa was also sitting up.

"Stay here!" Mark ordered. David and him ran out the door and down the hallway. They burst through the door into the station. The women screamed again, this time it came from the platform down the stairs. They ran down and looked around for the source of the scream. The platform was dimly lit by a few overhead lights, most of which was broken or burned out. On the other platform a woman was running, screaming as some strange creature chased her. She tripped. The creature jumped on her. She let out a shriek of pure terror as the creature bit into her. "Hey!" Mark and David brought up their guns. They jumped back as another one of the creatures landed in front of them, blocking the way. They stared at it in bewilderment.

It was giant flea, a flea that was somehow as big as the two of them. It bared its teeth and prepared to jump at them. They opened fire. Some of the bullet bounced off its shell, which now acted as armor, but others hit the soft flesh of its face. The creature gave out a death cry and fell over. They rushed to get a shot on the other one.

The woman's cries of terror had faded with her life. But before they fired something strange happened. The creature began shaking slightly, and then it grew bigger. In a matter of seconds the creature had suddenly grown to more then twice it's original size. It turned on them. Two big, they decided.

"Run!" Mark yelled. They had to get back to the hallways; it would be too big to fit. Even before they were back up the stairs it was already right behind them. They dashed through the employee passage door and slammed it behind them.  
"Going to need some bug spray." David panted. They'd need a lot of it. They pushed the door to the break room open. They were met with the barrel of Alyssa's shotgun but she lowered it.

"You two okay?" She asked. It was a bored tone, but she obviously noticed their tired state.

"What is it? Did they get in?!" Jim poked his head out from under the beds.

"There are giant fleas out there." Mark said, then realizing how stupid it sounded. Alyssa raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What ever this disease is mutates fleas?" She asked.

"Saw some poor soul be eaten, had the blood sucked right out of her."

"Wait, a women?" Jim crawled out from under the bed. "What did she look like?" He asked. Mark shook his head.

"Couldn't see her, not enough light. Listen, this place is more dangerous then up there right now, we need to get out of here."

"Where do you propose we go?" Alyssa asked. "There are zombies above ground and the 'giant fleas' down here. There ain't no other place to go."

"Isn't there a station by the city's edge that leads to the Arkley Mountains?" David asked Jim. Jim looked bewildered.

"Yeah…. But the power's out, those trains ain't going anywhere." Jim responded.

"That's our only way out, so we'll have to do it, how do we get the power on?" Mark asked. Jim rubbed the back of his head.

"Shit man, do we really have to go out there?"

"Just answer the damn question!" Alyssa barked impatiently. Jim flinched at her voice.

"The power room is just down the hall okay! I don't want to go there if there are monsters down there." He added fearfully. Alyssa snorted and David shook his head.

"It's our only option." Mark reminded him. "Show us where it is." Jim led them out the break room and down the hall to another room. Inside were several computer terminals and a large control panel. Mark walked up to it and looked at the various buttons, most of which shown red lights. "Which one turns the trains on?" Mark asked. Jim pointed to a switch on the right. Mark pushed it, and various lights on the panel turned green, signally the track was now active.

"Okay, now we just need to go start the train." Jim informed them. The group slowly made their way to the platform. They treaded softly, knowing full well those bug things could still be here. Only one train was in the station.

"That's our ticket out of here." Mark said. He turned as David put a hand on his shoulder and pointed towards the tunnel behind the train. The tunnel was collapsed; Debris blocked the other track while heavy slabs on concrete crushed subway cars attached behind the front car.

"Ah man, there's no way we're moving now."

"Can't we just detach the cars?" Alyssa asked. They went to the back of the lead car. "What the hell?" Alyssa exclaimed. Rather then a usual iron couplet, a large metal web seemed to hold the cars together. There were two indentations of the web. It looked like something could fit in there. Everyone looked at Jim, who raised his hands.

"Hey man I don't know okay?"

"It looks like the thing at the station." David pointed out. The group's spirits sunk slightly. That meant they would probably have to go digging around the station for keys or whatever.

"Who designs this city?" Alyssa asked. A pre-recorded female voice suddenly began playing on the station speakers.

"Train approaching, please stand away from the platform. Attention, Train app-

"What's it mean?" Alyssa asked.

"Shit, there must've been a train running when the power got cut." Jim realized. David jumped down onto the track and gazed down the opposite tunnel. He saw a bright light, growing bigger as it approached.

"Oh shit, it's gonna crash!" Jim screamed.

"Get off the platform!" Mark ordered. They didn't even get to the stairs before it happened. The train spread through the station like a bullet. It hit the blockage with tremendous force, the crash echoed throughout the station. The train finally screeched to a stop. The group halted on the stairs. Was the danger past?

"Do you smell gas?" Jim asked. Suddenly bright orange flames erupted from the wrecked train. The acidly smell and thick, choking smoke, came over them in seconds.

"What are we standing here for?" Alyssa coughed. They all ran off the platform and back to the employee passage.

"Aren't you supposed to have a sprinkler system?" David asked.

"The pipe busted a few days ago." Jim coughed. He looked at David again and realization came over him. "You can fix it!" He said excitedly.

"Fine, where is it?" David asked.

"It's in the basement! I think Rick had a key in his locker…. I wonder what happened to him…" Jim trailed off, looking anxious. They returned to the break room. Alyssa took out her set of lock picks and started on the locker marked with the person in question's name.

"Why does a reporter need lock picks anyway?" Mark asked her. Alyssa scoffed.

"You'd have to be a journalist to understand." She responded, though her eyes none the less betrayed something. There was a click and the locker opened. Most of it's contents were clothes and various cleaning supplies. Alyssa made a disgusted sound at the dirty magazine at the top of the pile. But on the top self was a key. Jim grabbed it.

"Ok." He sounded nervous. "Just- follow me." Jim led them through the passages to back where a metallic blue door was. Jim unlocked it, revealing a set of steel stairs leading down. "Uh… you guys first." He motioned with his hands. Mark took the lead. Jim fidgeted slightly. He never liked going down here: it always scared him. They came to another door. Mark pushed the door open and aimed his rifle in. It was nearly pitch black. They walked in. Alyssa turned down one way. She stopped at a sloshing sound.

"This place is flooded." She said in disgust. She took another step forward, the water now at her ankles. Suddenly something pulsed out in the water- a electric shock. Alyssa screamed and fell back. Mark and David ran forward and grabbed her and dragged her away from the water. "God Damnit." She swore through gritted teeth. The shock hadn't killed her, but it had hurt.

"There must be a down wire." David said, looking at the water sloshing around. He put a hand under Alyssa's arm and tried to help her up but she pushed him off.

"I'm fine!" She snapped. She painfully pushed herself up.

"How are we supposed to get to the pump room now?" Mark asked. Something in Jim's mind clicked suddenly.

"The vents!" He said out loud. He walked down another hallway, his eyes trained on the floor. There! Despite the darkness he could see a hole in the wall, the original vent had fallen off long ago. "You can get in through there!" He told David. The plumber scowled at him, but regardless, knelt down. He crawled through the narrow space and disappeared. Jim looked around anxiously while they waited. He had a bad feeling about this place, what if those bugs were down here too? Jim jumped as he heard a noise, but it was only David.

"Well?" Alyssa pressed. David shook his head.

"I need a valve to stop the water and some duck tape to fix the pipe." He said.

"I'll go get some duck tape!" Jim volunteered enthusiastically. Anything if it meant getting out of here. He took off, only pausing to yell to the others that there should be a valve in one of the other closets. He darted up the stairs quickly and back to the safe feeling employee passage. Jim breathed a sigh of relief.

Now he just had to get the tape from the supply closet and- A eerie moan echoed through the area and Jim nearly fainted. Oh shit, he realized. There was a zombie here; they'd gotten in. He swallowed. Dare he go back? Jim listened, it sounded like it was only one zombie. He had a gun, he could handle himself. He took a deep breath and, with the gun raised, cautiously moved through the hallway. The shuffling of the zombie's dead feet were growing louder. It was just around this corner. Jim took a dead breath. He could do this, his life depended on it. He dashed around the corner, gun raised.

"Time to die motherfu- Jim stopped and stared in horror. Even through the torn uniform and from the behind those blank eyes, Jim still recognized the man ambling in front of him. "Rick?!"


	9. Underbelly III

XX Author's Note XX

To those who wonder, Rick was Jim's co-worker. You can find his body during the level 'Underbelly' where Jim will be distressed. Additionally, the woman mentioned earlier does in fact appear under special circumstances. I wrote this under the assumption everyone already knew every detail about the games, but just in case, there's some background info.

X

"Rick, come on, don't make me use this…" Jim said unsteadily with his gun raised. Jim's friend, former friend now, kept slouching forward. Jim's hands shook. The zombies up top weren't a problem. But Rick had been Jim's friend since he started working here!

"Yo man, remember all those good times we had? The clubs, the jokes?" Jim waved. "Rick!" Jim backed up. He couldn't do it, he couldn't! The zombies upstairs were strangers- he didn't know them. But despite the devoid eyes, Jim still saw the corpse in front of him as a friend.

Why did he have to back down? That cop had shot a few zombie cops back at the station. But Jim kept backing up till he felt his back come into contact with the cold concrete walls. He kept his gun up. Rick kept stumbling forward while Jim kept blubbering, unable to do anything.

The zombie lunged, the handgun barked. Something warm splattered Jim's face. Jim watched as Rick, now missing half his face, fell backwards. It took Jim a moment to realize _he_ had been the one to fire.

"Aw man." Jim sunk down beside his friend. "Why'd you have to do that? Damnit, Rick!" Jim beat his fist on the floor. Rick had probably been one of the few people Jim got along with well enough. He was a good man. Now he was gone for good. There was a disturbance somewhere else in the tunnel, snapping Jim back to reality for a moment. He had to get that duck tape and get the hell out of there. "I'm sorry." He said to his friend before hurrying towards the supply closet.

X

"I hate this place." Alyssa muttered as her and Mark moved through the dark tunnels. While Jim went for the duck tape, they tried to locate the valve David needed. The poor lighting did not help their efforts. The closets in the passage had only been proven to be filled with trash.

The only other route led to a pump room, thankfully lit by a dim lamp light. Alyssa's eyes ran along the length of the pump while Mark cautiously investigated the tipped over shelf in the corner. The sooner they got out of here, the better.

"About damn time." Alyssa said out loud as she spotted a valve hanging off a hook on the pump. She picked it up and made sure it wasn't broken. A gunshot ran out, unexpected and loud. Alyssa dropped the valve with a _clang_. "What the hell?!" She demanded, picking up the valve and walking over to where Mark was. "Are they down here too? Because I swear-" Alyssa froze when she looked past Mark. There was a zombie on the ground, but not like the ones they normally saw. This one was a child- possibly only eight of nine years old.

Alyssa spun around so she couldn't see it. "That isn't cool." She said. "That-" She trailed off, unable to say anymore. She'd seen quite a bit from her time as a reporter. The violence she'd recently taken part in was only self defense. But seeing a dead child…

"Charlie used kids when I was in Vietnam." Mark remembered. "I killed a few of them. After a while, you don't even notice the difference- just people trying to kill you." Apparently offended, Alyssa stalked back out of the room with the valve. Mark looked at the vent where the poor soul had apparently been hiding. "There really isn't a difference." He said before following her.

X

With a final turn of the valve, the water flow stopped. David wiped the sweat off his forehead. Admittedly, the duck tape might not hold for longer then a few days, but it would keep the pipe closed long enough to put the fire out. David leaned up against the side of the pipe, rubbing his sore head. Where was that little twit with the duck tape?

Concerned voices came through the small vent opening, a moment later Jim crawled through and held the duck tape out. David took it and began wrapping it around the hole. He did it slowly and carefully, making sure there would be no leaks. Satisfied, the plumber turned to turn the water back on, it was then that he noticed the depressed expression on Jim's face and that he was staring at the ground. What was his problem? Did David even care?

"Problem?" He asked.

"What? Oh… no I'm fine." Jim responded absentmindedly. David shook his head, no point in asking if he wasn't going to tell him. He turned the valve back and there was a hissing sound as water began flowing again. The duck tape held. That meant they should be able to transverse the passage now. He turned and pushed the door open to the now clean passageway. The air and floor were still damp and wet, but it now presented no threat. David saw a severed and live electrical cord dangling from the ceiling. Since it wasn't submerged they weren't at risk for shock.

David began walking back around to the others. Jim dragged behind glumly, flipping a coin in the air as is trying to distract himself. Some ways along there was a loud scraping noise as David's boots knocked something metal skidding across the ground. David looked down and saw some weird-shaped item lying there. David belt down and picked it up. David pulled a lighter out and flicked the flame up. The thing was some sort of mask. The words 'Kite Brother's Railway' were etched in the bottom. Why was it this seemed familiar to him?

"Hey," Jim said, his depression seemingly gone for the moment, "Is that one of the plates for the train lock?" He asked. Now David remembered: it was shaped like one of the slots up there. Wow, talk about stupid luck, David thought.

"Hold this." He ordered, shoving it into Jim's hands. After a shorter walk they ran back into Mark and Alyssa.

"What's that?" Alyssa asked, looking at the plate.

"One of the plates to unhook the train." Jim explained.

"The sprinklers should work now." David reported. Mark nodded.

"Good, let's go see." The group made their way backs up and to the platform. On the way they came across Rick's body. They put two and two together and realized what was causing Jim's mood. "You okay solider?" Mark asked him, hanging back slightly while David and Alyssa took the lead. Jim shook his head.

"He was my best friend, and I just shot him in the head." He shivered slightly, just the thought almost made him want to throw up. "And for what?" Mark put a sympathetic hand on Jim's shoulder and opened his mouth, but Jim shrugged him off.

Back on the platform, the air was still a bit thick with smoke and a horrid smell, but the sprinklers had indeed put out the fire. Mark took the plate from Jim and went to put the plate in. Jim meanwhile walked over to investigate the remains of the crash. Only one burned out car was visible. There was still heat radiating from the metal. Jim noticed an object on the ground near the wreck… It couldn't be!

Jim laughed and ran forward. It was it all right, the other plate they needed, it was sitting right there. Jim pulled his lucky join out of his pocket and admired it. He knew she'd see him through this mess. He picked up the plate; it was still warm to the touch. He ran excitedly back to the others. Before he called out to them though he noticed, for the first time, the corpse lying just a yards further down the platform. Those clothes looked familiar… no… no… it couldn't be!

"Now we just need to find the other one." Mark was saying. The three of them flinched as Jim started screaming. It echoed throughout the whole station. Guns raised, they ran towards his voice. There were no monsters though. Jim was on his knees near the corpse of the women Mark and David had seen earlier. He was shaking his head rapidly, as if trying to wake himself from a bad dream. As they got closer they could hear him sobbing. "Must be another one of his friends… we should let him grieve for a few." Mark murmured to the others, understanding only too well the feeling Jim was experiencing.

"Are you insane?" Alyssa shot back under her breath. "I know he lost his friends but everything monster within five miles can hear him."

"We have enough firepower between the three of us to handle it." David pointed out. Alyssa scowled, clearly displeased with the idea, but didn't argue. Much to their surprise, none of the creatures came, they could hear them though, crawling in the dark, but not one showed itself. Eventually, Jim got back up and came over to them with the plate.

"I'm alright." He sniffed. Mark nodded and patted the younger man's shoulders.

"Ok. Can you start the train?" Jim shook his head yes. "Good." Mark continued. "Me and Alyssa will go get some supplies from the staff room to take with us. David, can you keep watch here?" The man nodded. "Okay, lets hurry up and get out of here."

Inside the subway car Jim hit the switch to release the brakes. He was still slightly shocked at seeing the grizzly remains of his beloved friends and co-workers. But he would cope for now. There would be time in a less-dangerous environment to mourn. His own will for self preservation had taken back over. David stood guard in the car doorway.

"Some fucked up shit isn't it?" Jim said. "Everyone eating each other."

"…."

"Man, they were my best friends, only people in my life really… And I just shot one of them…"

"…."

"I don't care if he turned, he still seemed human to me, you have any idea how it feels? To kill someone?"

"…."

"It tears you up on the inside man. It does yo." Jim hit the last button, and the car began charging. It should start moving automatically. Jim sighed and sat on one of the benches.

"I know what you mean." David said quietly. His voice almost made Jim jump; he had not suspected a reply.

"Shit, that where that fancy knife work comes from? You use to be a hood or something?" Jim guessed. David didn't respond. "Guess you don't want to talk about it."

X

Mark grabbed the first aid kit Jim had found earlier while Alyssa grabbed as many sodas and snacks as she could. It wasn't healthy, but it would keep them going. "So what's the plan?" Alyssa asked.

"The city is barricaded by the Army, so we can't get out by the main roads. We're going to take the train to the edge of the city and escape to the next town through the Arkley Mountains."

"The Arkley Mountains?" Alyssa remarked. "Isn't that where this whole mess started?"

"Yeah, but it's our only option. We either fight through the mountains or we stay here."

"Hmm, the Arkley Mountains…" Alyssa thought. For some unexplained reason she suddenly shivered.

X

The panel said the train would be ready in another eight minutes. Why was it taking this long? Jim sighed and sat back down. David, meanwhile, stood outside looking around. It was unnatural. They were out there somewhere. He could hear them.

The subway car suddenly rocked. Glass shattered and Jim set out a piercing scream. David ran back inside the car to see Jim's feet disappearing though the window. David ran back out. It was another one of those creatures, it had somehow snuck behind the train. And it had Jim clenched in its long, skinny, and hairy arms.

David pulled out his revolver and fired. The bug scurried away, only rocking slightly under the weight of the bullet. It scurried off down the tunnel and into the darkness. Jim's screams died off, becoming less loud. David stared after the creature, baffled. He quickly contemplated his options. He only had nine for bullets for the revolver, and his knife would be useless against those beasts. He could go get Mark and Alyssa, but time was of essence. There was no telling what those things would do with him. Sure there was the option of just leaving him, but that didn't bode well. Sure Jim was annoying, but they couldn't just leave him to die. David shook his head. Only one option was practical.

Mark and Alyssa were nearly out the employee passage before David barreled through the door and nearly into them. "What now?" Mark asked. "Where's Jim?" David quickly explained what had happened. "We have to help him." Mark decided at once.

"Are you nuts?" Alyssa asked. "I know it seems cruel but what good is it if we all get killed? I ain't selfish, but what can we do?" Mark just shook his head.

"I am not losing another man if I can help it." Mark said firmly, he turned and took off, David right behind him. Alyssa just stood there with her hands on her hip and a scowl. But then she sighed and, at a slightly slower pace, followed the two men.

X

Jim had stopped screaming by now, simply because he was out of breath. His mind was on the verge of complete panic. He was amazed he hadn't fainted yet. The creature suddenly dropped him and Jim hit the ground and rolled over.

…And found enough breath to scream again.

Aside from five big ones and two little bugs, there was another one, a giant one. It towered high above him, at least ten times as big as the other ones. Jim scrambled up and felt light headed. He pawed at his pocket desperately for his gun, only to realize with horror it had fallen out during the journey. He backed against the tunnel wall, numb with fear. He grabbed a slab of concrete lying at his feet. The creatures looked at him in an almost curious fashion. The giant one, (the queen Jim guessed) reached a single claw down at him. It stopped and jerked it's head back down the tunnel, it's servants did the same. With a slight cry, three of them took off down the tunnel.

The other ones and queen turned back at Jim. The queen again extended an arm at him. Jim jumped to the side it swung at him, clearly trying to impale him. She screeched in frustration. Down the tunnel gunfire rang out. The creatures again turned their heads again. The smaller ones immediately took up what looked like defensive positions for their queen. The others must be coming to rescue him! Jim realized with absolute glee. There was a clear opening now for him to run. His legs were still very wobbly, but regardless he took the chance. Hurling the concrete at the face of one of them, he took off down the tunnel. Someway down he ran into them. "Your okay! What happened?" Mark asked.

"Bug…. Queen…Guards…" Jim managed to get those words out though most of it was random babbling. In the end he simply pointed back towards the tunnel. "It's blocking the track." He struggled to say. He collapsed onto his knees, panting.

"Get him outta here!" Mark ordered. David grabbed the shaken man and dragged him back to the train. Mark loaded another clip into the breech and ran forward. If it was blocking the tracks then they had to get rid of it. It was a lot more daunting then they had expected.

"Holy shit." Mark remarked when he saw it. Alyssa outdid the war veteran in her own colorful remark. Mark brought his rifle up and fired at the queen. Her minions rushed at them but Alyssa easily dispatched them with her shotgun before focusing on the queen. The problem was the bullets didn't seem to be doing much damage. Without realizing it, they had already retreated at least twenty yards without much luck. Mark slammed a fourth clip in and fired. If they couldn't kill this creature they were in real trouble.

X

David shouldered Jim up onto the platform, pausing only to raise his gun and shoot a bug that scrambled down the stairs at them. David helped the shocked man into the subway car and set him on the seat. This apparently snapped Jim back to reality.

"Dude, the train leaves in two minutes!" Jim said urgently. David simply nodded and told Jim to stay put before rushing back to help the others, firing at yet another giant flea as he jumped down onto the tracks.

X

"I'm nearly dry here!" Alyssa called. Loading more ammo into her shotgun.

"Same." Mark replied, slamming one of his five remaining magazines in. They fired again at the giant monster, but it showed no signs of flinching. They continued firing though. David rushed back into the fight and pulled his revolver out and fired. The combined firepower of three people seemed to have an effect for a change. In one last desperate move, the creature lashed out one of it's arms they all ducked. Its arm stuck a steel support beam between the tracks. It let at a panicked screech as part of the roof suddenly caved in. The queen's head was crushed in as heavy slabs of concrete fell upon it. They all sat in stunned silence. The female announcers voice came back on now, alerting that the train was about to leave.

"Shit!" Alyssa swore. She turned and ran back towards the platform, Mark and David right behind her. There was scurrying in the darkness, but no bugs came. Perhaps sensing the demise of their leader, then all fled.

Jim stuck his head out the doorway, motioning for the others as they climbed back onto the platform. David was the first in, then Alyssa. Mark, due in part to his age and weight, was still somewhat behind. There was a hissing sound and the train started forward. Before it could gain much speed Mark jumped in and shut the door. The tired guard slumped down on one of the seats with everyone else.

"I can't believe we all made it through that!" Jim remarked. The car picked up speed and sped down the track, passing the remains of the queen flea. He looked around and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I shouldn't have run." He admitted. Alyssa and David scowled, but Mark nodded.

"We all have a break down at one point or another." He said. "But from now on, we can't have any of that." Mark turned serious again. "This mess gets bigger and bigger every minute. The only way we'll survive is if we work together." He looked at everyone.

David did not seem to fond of the idea, Alyssa glanced distrustfully at Jim, and Jim was looking out the window anxiously at the darkness. None of them responded, but Mark was sure by now the fact was definitely starting to set in.


	10. Chapter 10

September 26th 11:31 P.M

"Mark? Alyssa?" Cindy called out, hoping for a response. If there either of the missing survivors responded, Cindy was unable to hear it over the horrible and constant sounds of moaning, fire, and gunshots

"Can anyone hear me?" George called out. After the crash, there had been an initial scramble as everyone hurried to get away from the wreckage of the van as it caught fire. This had proven a life saving action, had the van had exploded just moments later, engulfing both the zombies and Harry's body. During this, Mark, Jim, Alyssa, and David had vanished from view. Cindy, George, (and to a lesser extent Yoko), were looking for them while Kevin and Rita held back the undead hoards.

"Doing okay?" Kevin asked as he loaded another clip into his machine gun. He took am and fired several well controlled bursts at the zombies closest to them. Thought powerful, Kevin was burning through the ammo very quickly.

"Yeah, you?" Rita replied. Her Beretta barked once and felled a zombie. Four more came and took its place.

"Still got some fight left in me." Kevin said with his trademark cocky grin. Meanwhile hopes of finding the others were low. Cindy shot another zombie in the head and called out desperately for their lost friends. Disappearing here could only mean one thing… George tried looking over the mass of zombies for them but to no avail. One suddenly charged him from behind and gripped his shoulder. A gunshot tore out its jaw before it could take a bite of him. He gave a appreciative nod to Cindy and kept looking. This become more difficult as they became more surrounded.

As painful as it was they had to give up looking and focusing on surviving. So many zombies were appearing from the nearby buildings that they could no longer safely focus on anything but what was in front of them. Kevin and Rita were also starting to feel pressed, and slowly but surely they found themselves being pushed down the street by the tide.

"Shit." Kevin swore has his MP5 clicked empty. He tossed it into the street and pulled out his trusted Colt 1911 and resumed firing. Behind him Yoko pointed down the street and yelled. It was blocked by a collapsed building, which meant they were trapped on this street. "I see it!" Kevin yelled back, though there was an annoyed tone to his voice. Not only did zombies surround them on all sides, but also they were being pushed towards a wall.

"Look for an alleyway or something!" Rita called as she loaded another clip. The undead crowd continued rushing towards them. Even after Main Street and the station there seemed to be a infinite number of monsters, a force so large no amount of rounds could make a dent or difference in.

"I found an alley!" Cindy called. Great! They could escape. Rather then being pushed, they shifted to offense, and Kevin turned and fired shot after shot, creating a cap in the hoard to reach it. Kevin was the first through the alley, clearing the way while Rita stayed behind to cover the rear. Kevin shot two lone zombies lumbering in the darkness through the head before emerging onto the next street. It was less crowded, but still filled with the undead. He fired at one before his gun clicked empty. He realized that they couldn't fight it out; they needed to get the hell out of there.

"Ideas anyone?" Kevin asked. They were at a three way intersection. George's eyes surveyed the area and stopped upon a blue sign on miraculously still standing. They were just four blocks from the hospital! That had to be a safe haven. And with any good fortune there'd be supplies still there for them.

"The hospital! It's very close." George explained to the two police officers and pointed to the sign. They nodded.

"Sounds like a plan!" Kevin agreed.

"Lets get moving then!" Rita said. Kevin was able to lead most the way. He'd been to the hospital enough times to interrogate people to know the way, no matter how wrecked this particular shopping district was.

They traveled on the sidewalk, staying far to the side of the zombies. "Anyone got a spare clip?" Rita asked. Yoko tossed her one from her bag. "Alright, now we need to- Rita was cut off as a zombie flung itself through a front store window in a spray of glass and tackled her. Kevin was too slow to prevent the zombie from sinking it's teeth into her shoulder.

"NO!" Kevin kicked the zombie in the head with enough voice to rupture its brain. Rita stumbled up. George and Cindy were right there to help the injured women but she waved them off. The zombie had been upon her long enough to tear her shoulder uniform, but it hadn't sunk its teeth in long enough to cause major bleeding. But they could see the teeth marks clearly in the fire light. "Rita…" Kevin wasn't sure what to say now.

Rita looked from them then at her punctured shoulder. It might've been the shock of what had already happen in the last hours, or the blood pounding in their ears, but words didn't come to them. But a unspoken agreement was made as Rita stood up straight again and took a step back. She reloaded the clip.

"Don't die later on OK?" She asked. "Make sure you get them out of here." Kevin nodded, understanding. Marvin must've rubbed off on her more then he ever realized.

"Good luck Rita. Put as many of them down as you can." And with that he turned and led the others away and around a corner. Gunshots sounded behind them.

"I can't believe we had to leave her behind." Cindy said once they made it a full block, gunshots still echoing behind them. First Marvin and now Rita, both gone because the group had not been fast enough to help them. Now they were both doomed to join the undead.

"We did what we had to." Kevin said. He cast a regretful glance back. "Even if it was hard." The event caused his spirits to fall even more, though adrenaline kept him moving. It seemed everywhere his friends and fellow officers were dying. It weighed on his conscious that he kept surviving more then ever. He wondered just how long he could keep up like this.

"The hospital is right up ahead." George pointed forward after they turned onto a narrow street. Sure enough there was the big stone building. The red neon sign above proclaiming the building's use was surprising unscathed. For that matter, the building didn't seem to have suffered structural damage like most of the city. The building still kept its warm and welcoming aura of safety.

Zombies were surprising absent from its front, though the ones behind them would no doubt catch up. The group climbed over several cars that were abandoned on the narrow street and walked up to the front door. George hesitated as a ugly possibility occurred to him, one he hadn't realized when he suggested the destination. The hospital had housed the first cases of this madness, so wouldn't that mean it would have perished first?

"Hold on." George grabbed Kevin's arm. The cop gave him a annoyed look. "The first examples of whatever is affecting those were here, it might not be safe." George explained. Kevin shook his head.

"We got guns don't we? Besides, this place is our best bet for finding medical supplies. Who knows, maybe a cure?" And without hesitating he opened the door and went in. "Holy shit." He muttered. Cindy gasped. George dreaded whatever sight lay inside, but what choice did he have? He regretted it as soon as he walked in. Corpses of doctors and nurses were scattered all over the waiting room lobby. Blood trails were smeared on the ground. George stared in horror. These people, the people he had long since worked with, his friends, were all dead. It was horrific, unreal, it had to be a dream!

"Oh George I'm so sorry!" Cindy said, noticing his face. He immediately tried to regain his composure. He was a man who was never supposed to faltered under stress for fear of endangering others. Even now he had to keep it like that. Kevin said nothing, though he too was deeply disturbed by the scene.

"Okay…" He seemed to be observing the bodies for any sign they were amongst the undead ranks. "We should be able to rest here and find some supplies at least…" He turned to George. "Where are the patient rooms?" George pointed through a doorway next to the help desk.

"There's a elevator through there." He said. Or so he thought. Has it turned out, the elevator was out, as was the electricity. If that wasn't bad enough George had seen another one of his fellow workers, splayed the desk in the center of room. There was blood everywhere and the body seemed very thin and wrinkly. What hellish nightmare had happened here? Why the elevator was out hope was not entirely lost. George managed to lead them back through another few doors and up a couple of stairs. Kevin took care to close one of the shutters behind them.

"Just in case." He had said. He led them to the third floor, which was the last next to the roof. Most this floor was closed off as well. By now the group was very tired. So much in fact Yoko had stumbled going up the stairs. "There any beds up here?" Kevin asked. He wouldn't show it but George suspected he was also tired. "We should probably rest before looking any further, its been a long day." George nodded.

"Yeah, we should rest some. There's a room right here we could use." George motioned down the hallway. There was a abandoned wheelchair there, making George wonder what happened to the injured? Did anyone help them escape, or were they left to fend the dead themselves?

The room was small, but still had four beds and as many privacy screens for patients. Yoko and Cindy were the first to fall asleep first. George remained sleepless for a time, while Kevin spent a near hour staring out the window at the city before eventually succumbing to fatigue in a chair.

Sleep was not as becoming for George. His recent divorce had admittedly trained much of his energy. He had rebounded by swearing to put more effort into his work, but even that was gone now. Everything seemed on its way to being lost…

"Dear god." George murmured to himself.

XX Author's Note XX

I did honestly consider having Rita travel with the group for the course of the level, like how you can select NPCs to play, but I decided it went against the core of the game.


	11. The Hive I

XX Author's Note XX

Sorry for the delay; I was too sick to refurbish anymore of the story for a while. I'm back online now.

September 27th 8:45 A.M

While it had not been a easy sleep, it had helped. Now that they were rested up, the group was trying to decide their next course of action. George stood in the far side of the room, not fully paying attention. His mind was elsewhere. It seemed as if life was not going well for him. Aside from his recent divorce (and the consequential slashing of his tires), this plague had descended upon the city, killing his co-workers and friends. And the pain of losing Rita and the other survivors hung heavy on his conscious, even more that if they did survive they didn't have anyone of medical experience, though George hoped Mark remember some.

The guilt, the stress, the fear. Even for a man of George's mental capacity could barely go through all of it without cracking.

"So is there?" Kevin directed at George.

"What? I'm sorry, I wasn't listening." George looked up. Kevin sighed in annoyance.

"Forget it." He stood up a stretched. George felt a momentary pang of guilt for not putting more effort into the groups survival plan. He rubbed his head trying to think of stuff they should try and scourge. It might be worth it to take a stitching kit, just in case. If there were any herbs left they should definitely take them. The herbs around the city were known for amazing healing qualities. But aside from several smashed and stepped on they had seen on the ground, there were none. Beside him Cindy gasped. "What is it?" Kevin asked. George turned and looked through the window at the street below. He paled slightly. In the street below were maybe two hundred zombies, all seeming lined up to get into the hospital. "Holy shit…. I hope they can't open those doors." Kevin stepped back and sat on one of the patient beds. "So what's your take on this George?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" George didn't know what he meant.

"You're a doctor aren't you? Whatever's affecting those people is still some sort of sickness isn't it?" He asked. George thought for a second. It wasn't the first time he'd been asked- the two had discussed the very same question at the station. The cop was probably asking for more information. Despite the mass outside, the hospital still provided a calm enough setting for George to think.

"It behaves more like a virus then a sickness." George began. "Suggesting it is in fact a weapon. It appears to be transferred through fluids, such as blood, which explains why biting transfers it."

"But what does it DO?" Kevin asked. George pondered the behavior of the creatures.

"Firstly it seems to completely eliminate their rationality and sense of pain and feeling." George said. As he did, he tried running through his mind for any known ailments that had similar effects, though he didn't succeed. "It also seems to rewire the brain to the sole instinct of self preservation." George said. "But that's all I can really say about it without further study. There doesn't appear to be a cure." He added. Kevin pulled his gun from its holster.

"Cure seems pretty obvious, a bullet in the head." He said. George frowned. He didn't really approve of the use of violence. He was a healer, not a killer. In the heat of danger it was easy, but once the excitement faded guilt set in. Despite it all, he still viewed the infected as humans, even when some of the others didn't.

"Are you okay?" Cindy asked worriedly. George looked over; Yoko had her hand on her head. He stood up.

'No, I'm okay." She said quickly. "Just a bad headache." A distraction provided itself as the door to the room opening. Guns were drawn.

"AHH!" The perpetrator covered his face with his arms. Even then, George recognized the man.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" George lowered his gun and jumped in front of Kevin, slightly fearful of what the trigger-happy cop would do. He stepped up to the slightly shaken doctor. "Hursh?" He asked. The doctor moved his hands. His eyes were white and bulging, no doubt from the scare.

"George?" He said in surprise. George felt a wave of relief hit him. Not everyone was dead. Hursh looked at the group. "I'm sorry if I frightened you." He said. George apologized back.

"It isn't safe anywhere in the city, we're all a little on edge." He explained. Hursh nodded in understanding.

"I'm afraid the hospital is no longer safe." He said. "I didn't think anyone else would be alive. We all should focus on escaping as quickly as possible." The news was disheartening, but not worth contesting.

"We came here looking for medical supplies." Kevin cut in. "Is there any left?" Hursh shook his head.

"I'm afraid most the herbs and equipment in the hospital are either destroyed or gone. We need to get out of here." He insisted. Kevin sighed in defeat.

"Ideas then?"

"I can probably get the elevator to work. There is a back entrance we can escape from." Hursh explained.

"Me and Cindy will try and find at least something that may be of use." Kevin got up, clearly unwilling to leave without gain, "George, Yoko, why don't you two go with the good doctor here?" The group dispersed. Though it was a bust as a shelter, there had to be at least something for them.

In a patient room just down the hall, Kevin opened the center drawer. The first thing he noticed was a bottle labeled HEMOSTATS. That might be useful. He pocketed it.

"Kevin!" Cindy called. "I found a gun!" Kevin turned around to where Cindy was searching one of the lockers in the room. A gun? In a hospital? As he walked up, Cindy handed him the item in question. It was, indeed, a gun, a regular 92 Berretta. He noticed a problem though.

"The slides back." He showed her. "There aren't any bullets in it. Still, nice find, but why is there a gun here?" There was a sound above them. "What the hell?" Kevin drew his .45 and pointed up at the ceiling. The vent by the door fell with a clang. A dark mass fell from the vent and landed on the floor with a slick, slimy _splat_. They both had similar shocked reactions. The creature stood up.

It was a hideous being, though it maintained a humanoid appearance. It was covered head to toe in fat, slimy leeches. Only by an occasional glimpse of clothing beneath the squirming masses could you tell it had once been human. The creature reared back.

"Watch out!" Kevin pushed Cindy sideways and jumped out of the way as it flung its arm, a extended mass of leeches, at them. The window behind them shattered. Kevin fired at the being, emptying all eight bullets. It was no use. The bullets simply hit individual leeches, causing them to burst. "Run!" Kevin ordered Cindy. He took his Desert Eagle from his leg holster and fired. The sheer impact was enough to cause the creature to stumble backwards. Cindy scrambled over the beds while Kevin kept the creature busy. The gun clicked as Kevin fired the last shot. Cursing, he slammed the one reserve clip he had into the gun.

"Kevin!" Cindy called. Time to go. Kevin ran and ducked under the creatures extended arm. The two of the rushed out the door and barreled down the hallway. They had to warn the others.

X

As luck would have it, the nurses' station did have a stitching kit, as well as some bandages and anti-biotics. Yoko had volunteered to carry the supplies. George had also found a repair man's memo, which detailed the need for some maintenance in the sewers. This memo had given George an idea: While unsanitary, the sewers would likely be free of these monsters, and more then likely would lead to the city limits. All he had to do was wait for the others to return and run the idea by them. Though there was a problem- the sewers were in the bottom levels of the hospital, normally accessible by only higher employees. No one truthfully knew what went on down there though. But now all they had to do was find a way down there.

"After that we sealed off most the building." Hursh finished explaining how the hospital had started perishing on the morning of the 26th. The first patients to turn had thrown the hospital into chaos, forcing administrators and staff too isolate area after area till the whole building was eventually overrun.

Right now the three of them were in the nurses station. A large barricade took up the center of the room. The remaining staff had obviously made a vain attempt to stop the hoard. But as evidenced by the bodies of Cathy and Elena (two nurses George had worked with fairly frequently) lying on the ground, it had done next to nothing.

The desk windows were also barricaded crudely. You could almost feel the desperateness and panic by looking at the signs of its hurried construction. Hursh was behind the barricade. "I think there's a auxiliary generator we can use." Hursh said. He walked over to a panel in the corner of the room and began pushing buttons.

"It seems power on this floor is controlled by an auxiliary battery." Hursh mused from across the room. See if this works. He punched a button. Somewhere in the building a humming sound started. The lights above flickered dimly to life. "Excellent!" Hursh said. "Now we could finally escape. Now that the room was properly lit, George noticed something.

"Dr. Hursh, did something happen to your hand?" George inquired. The doctor's hand was rapped in a bandage, which was red from blood seepage.

"Oh." The Doctor looked down, surprised as if he'd just noticed it. "That's just from-

Gunfire rang out, cancelling his voice. They all froze. Kevin and Cindy must've run into the undead. George realized with a sense of dread. The gunfire halted. They heard the sound of feet pounding down the hallway. Kevin flung the door open with enough force that one of the hinges broke.

"Come on! We gotta go now!" He yelled. He grabbed Yoko's hand.

"What's happening?" George asked.

"No time to explain." Kevin turned to Hursh. "C'mon!" Hursh seemed baffled but complied, walking towards them. Something crashed into the desk windows. Hursh stopped and stared. Something flung itself into the barrier again and broke through. A strange, dark mass, began forcing itself through the narrow hole. "Run!" Kevin urged. Hursh took off towards them in a panicked run. He tried to climb over the barricade. The creature landed on the floor with a sickening sound and stood up. It was…covered in leeches? George stared at the creature in shock. He recognized the clothes under the mass of squirming creatures. It was Scott-he was a doctor here. As Hursh attempted to climb over a cart, the barricade shifted slightly.

"No!" George lurched forward and tried to grab his friend, but it was no use. The barricade gave way and Hursh fell back onto the floor. With amazing speed, the creature ran forward and fell on Hursh. He screamed. The remnants of the barricade kept them from witnessing the horror of whatever was happening. Kevin grabbed George's shoulder and dragged him out of the room.

"Does the elevator work?" He demanded. George nodded, too bewildered to speak or object; Hursh's screams had already subsided. What ungodly beast had that been?

Kevin pushed the button. The doors slid open and they all climbed in. Kevin hit the button for the first floor.

"What was that thing?" Cindy asked.

"Don't know." Kevin growled. "But it's looking for us now. We need to get out here. Now."


	12. The Hive II

The door dinged and Kevin moved out, moving his gun side-to-side looking for zombies. They were back in the office from the previous day. George was the only one to notice the body of a doctor was no longer splayed on the desk. He must've turned during the night…

Kevin kicked the door in and they made their way into the lobby. Their movements were swift and anxious. This was to in part to the heavy hammering on the main doors from outside.

"Okay, keep quiet and watch for-" With a vicious snarl a zombified dog jumped at Kevin's throat. Kevin leapt nimbly out the way and fired two shots into the dog's head. "C'mon! Move it!" He led them around the back into a dimly let passage. The same stairway they'd gone up last night was there. He found a room labeled night reception. He kicked the door in and made sure the room was clear, checked the roof for vents, and then ushered the others inside. He locked the door behind him. "Shit, this isn't good." He said. The room was rather small, with most of the space occupied by boxes and shelves. A security monitor was beside the door.

"Kevin, what was that thing? Why did we have to leave Hursh?"" George asked.

"Some sort of leech zombie or whatever. Couldn't kill it, the leeches are acting as a shield." Kevin leaned against the wall and rubbed his temple. "No wonder the whole police force is dead, no one's trained for to handle this shit." For the next minute there was silence. George was mourning the loss of his colleague and Kevin was trying to figure out how to get everyone out of this mess alive. What sort of monster was that? The lickers at the police station had been strange, but this was stranger.

"I…think I may have found us a way out." George finally spoke up. They all turned to him. He pulled out the repair mans memo he had found and showed it do them. "It says there's access to the sewers from here. It might be a long walk but we may be able to get out of the city that way." He looked down. Hursh could've come with them.

"They might lead to the city limits!" Cindy said hopefully.

"Okay, how to we get there?" Kevin asked.

"The entrance is on floor B2, but only authorized people are allowed down there." George explained.

"Who cares about authorization now? Let's just go." Kevin walked towards to door.

"Wait, the elevator doesn't normally go to that floor." George said. Kevin stopped. "I'm not sure, but I think we can unlock it from the elevator control room."

"Okay, then where is that?" Kevin's tone suggested he was annoyed, though it was probably just to hide his nerves. George knew the hospital front and back.

"Floor B1." He told him. Kevin nodded.

"Ok, lets go, move fast, stay together, and don't panic." Kevin pushed the door open and walked out, the passage was clear though. Kevin went to the left towards the stairs, Yoko right behind him. George and Cindy were last out of the room. "Right, what's the quickest way to the elevator?" Kevin asked.

"It should be right up those stairs." George responded. Kevin nodded. Above them there was a sudden noise. George grabbed Cindy's arm and dragged her out of the way as the vent crashed down onto the floor. Leech man fell out of the vent and onto the floor. It stood up menacingly.

"Shit! Run!" Kevin ordered. The problem was that Leech man was between them, and thus, they ran separate ways. Kevin dragged Yoko up the stairs. Leech man reached out its extended arm to hit them but missed. George and Cindy ran back to the lobby. They ran for the closest door into the Examination room.

The room was poorly lit. The corpse of a nurse was laying head down on a desk in front of some X-Rays. George raised his own gun, just in case there were zombies here.

"Oh my god." Cindy covered her mouth with her hand. "Where are the others?" George looked behind him. The others weren't there. Did they run off in a different direction? Or worse. That…thing wasn't that fast.

"They're probably fine." George assured, not truly sure at all. "We should keep moving- we may find them again." George tried to look at the positive side. "We could cover more ground this way." Cindy still seemed shocked about the creature and the others, but nodded.

"I have to stay strong." She nodded. George admired her bravery.

Cindy walked over to the desk the nurse was on. Something caught her eye. A keycard labeled 'B1'. Wasn't that the floor George had mentioned? She grabbed onto with her left hand. At that moment the nurse came back to life, grabbing her arm with her cold, dead hands. George spun around as Cindy shrieked and a gun fired. He was fast enough to see the body of the nurse, now beheaded, fall limply onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" He asked. She was shaking slightly.

"I'm fine, it just surprised me that's all." She shakily handed him the card. "What do you think this is?" George looked at it.

"The waste disposal area is on that floor, the card to get there." He pocketed it: it could be useful. With a crash another vent cover hit the ground. Leech man fell out and turned to them. "Run!" George yelled.

X

Kevin hit the button calling the elevator. All the while letting out a string of curses that made Yoko shrink beside him. He was mad, more at himself then anything. He was a officer (probably the only left in the city), he was meant to protect people, and now he'd just lost two more members of the group. But what could he do about that thing? Bullets were harmless! And now it had probably claimed two more victims…

"Kevin, calm down." The small girl urged. "What happened wasn't your fault, you couldn't have prevented it."

"I'm meant to protect people, yet we've already lost eight people to this mess." The door slid open and Kevin pushed Yoko in gently. He hit the button for B1. As he did he took note of several un-activated buttons on the panel: B2, and Roof among them. The elevator slowed to a stop and opened. Kevin walked into the passage.

It was a cold and narrow hallway. At the end of the hallway there was a moaning and the sound of fists banging on a fence. A shadow moving on the wall confirmed it was a zombie. But what caught his attention was the ground; a blood trail starting at the elevator let down the hallway to a door.

"Keep quiet and stay close." Kevin told her. She nodded. There were three doors in the passageway. The sign on the first told them it wasn't what they were looking for. The one the blood trail led to was right by the zombie, so they had to avoid it. The door in the middle of the hallway was the one they were looking for. Kevin pushed the door open. It was a dark room due to the lights being blown out. Lockers took up part the room, and the rest was mostly computers and other devices. A large screen and keyboard took over the far side of the room. Kevin walked over to it. Several fat slimy leeches were crawling all over the keyboard. As repulsive as it was, Kevin took the task since he had gloves. He picked each off the keyboard and crushed them with his foot. He took a seat in the chair and tapped a key. A password screen came up. "Shit." He didn't know any passwords. What now? Yoko tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm good with computers, I…I might be able to hack past the guard programs." She looked at the ground.

"Experience with this?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No, but I know how." She explained. Kevin nodded and stood up. He took his gloves off and handed them to her.

"You might need these." He told her. She nodded and took the gloves and sat down. Kevin went and leaned on a nearby table. The only thing he could here was a humming of what might have been a generator and the room was cold. Being down here must've been a suckish job. There was a crash as the vent cover crashed onto the floor. "God Damnit!" Kevin swore and stood up.

"I just need a minute and I can have the elevator unlocked." Yoko told him frantically. So that just meant Kevin had to hold this thing off for a minute. Guns wouldn't work. Maybe he could knock it down some other way? He spotted a Scrub Brush against a wall. As stupid as it was, it was his best bet. He grabbed it.

"Okay, come closer, I dare ya!" The creature lumbered towards him. Kevin swung.

X

George pushed the button for the elevator. After circling around the first floor a little they had come back to the elevator. Leech man had so far disappeared after chasing them through several rooms, always through the vent. They decided they'd go to the elevator control room, with any luck Kevin and Yoko would be down there. The door opened and they stepped in. Now that he thought about it, George wondered if the passage to the sewer was blocked by a card-reader. The elevator stopped and they stepped out. Cindy gasped. "Oh my god." There was a trail of blood on the ground, leading down the hallway to the door that could be unlocked by the card in George's pocket. They made their way down the hallway.

X

As it had turned out, the broom was very good for fighting Leech Man. It had taken only one shove to knock him down. What was amusing was the fact he couldn't get up. His mass being made of slimy leeches, he simply slipped on the floor every time he tried to push himself up. "Got it!" Yoko told him happily.

"Okay, c'mon!" They made their way around leech man and back into the hallway. They nearly ran right into the last two people they expected to see. The shocked silence only remained for a moment.

"You guys are okay!" Cindy said joyfully. She hugged Kevin. She did the same with Yoko.

"How'd you guys survive?" Kevin asked. He was surprised to see them, having been sure the monster had attacked them.

"It kept chasing us through a few rooms, but we eventually lost it. I think it can only travel through vents." George told him.

"Yeah, well it's in that room." He pointed behind him. "Thing can't get up if you knock it down, but lets get going anyway, the elevator floors are unlocked." He patted Yoko on the shoulder. She nodded.

"Wait, maybe we should go to the roof first?" Cindy suggested. "Maybe there are helicopters flying around the city we can flag down?" Kevin pondered that. Odds are the army would still be trying to evacuate people, and what better way then helicopters? It would be better then trudging through the dirty sewers, so it was worth a try. He hit the button for the roof.

The door opened and the group stepped out into the cold, early morning air. There was a helipad in the center of the roof; other then that there was barrels and garbage took up the rest. They should get a good view of the city from the railing… They all froze in shock. The city was destroyed. Their walk to the police station had taken through a wrecked part of the city, but this was beyond that. Fires were rampant in some parts of the city. They could hear screams and gunshots from below too. Several helicopters were in the air, but they were too far away.

"The whole city is burning…" Yoko trailed off. Kevin shook his head.

"Forget it. We're just gonna have to go through the sewers." He began walking back to the elevator, only to stop when he heard someone coughing…Human coughing? Someone was alive! "Hello?" Kevin called. He walked over to where a couple of barrels were piled together. "Hello?" Kevin repeated. He heard the cough again. Kevin started moving barrels till he caught a glimpse of blue. It was a police officer! He threw more barrels out of the way. He knelt beside the officer. He recognized him from before he'd joined the S.P.F, his name was Troy. "Troy! Troy! You okay?" Kevin realized it was a stupid question even before he'd said it. Troy's uniform was torn and his skin was covered in sores and gouges. Crusted blood indicated he'd been wounded for some time. Clasped tightly in his hands was a sub-machine gun.

"Kevin, that you?" He asked in a disbelieving tone. "I thought everyone was dead." He coughed again.

"George! Get over here!" Kevin ordered. The doctor was there in a second, quickly accessing the injuries.

"You rescued some civilians? Nice man." Troy coughed again. "They sent me here to contain the situation when it got out of control…those things… whatever they are.." He coughed again.

"Don't talk." Kevin urged. "Well George?" He turned hopefully, desperately to the doctor. George shook his head sadly.

"He's lost to much blood…he wouldn't survive if we moved him."

"What?! There must be something!" Kevin pressed.

"Kevin, listen." Troy said. He shoved the machine gun into Kevin's hands. He pulled out three clips. "It's modified, takes handgun bullets. Take it." He coughed. "Take it and get the hell out of this town." He started coughing again, violently. He fell over and lay withering on the ground. They could only watch as he died. A shocked silence followed.

"Kevin…" Cindy said uncertainly. Kevin shook his head. He started walking away. Suddenly he kicked one of the barrels and pushed another over. He swore loudly in the air, so loudly in fact they were sure half the city could've heard it. He kicked another barrel.

"Damnit! Why?! Why do good people need to die? First Eric and Elliot, then Fred and Aaron…. Damnit!" He swore again.

"Kevin, we've all lost people we're close too… but they're in a better place now…" Cindy tried to assure him.

"She's right, as much as it hurts we need to keep moving." Yoko said. Her toughness surprised the others. Kevin looked at them and nodded.

"Your right, we need to keep moving." They all moved towards the elevator. "Yoko, you got any bullets?" Kevin asked, observing the gun Troy had given him. Yoko took her bag off and dug inside. She produced two boxes of handgun bullets.

"That and three clips are all the ammo we have." She reported.

"It'll have to be enough." Kevin replied. He hit the button to open the elevator. "Lets go, we need to get out of this city."


	13. The Hive III

"God fucking damnit!" Kevin kicked the door again with so much force that is wobbled but didn't open. Much to their dismay, the door to the sewers was indeed locked by a key card reader. This was bad, on the outside waited hoards of the undead, but inside was leech man. Who the hell needed to keep a sewer locked anyway? Kevin put his head against the concrete wall. This was bad, real bad, what were they going to do now?

"Maybe if we search around we can find the card?" Cindy suggested.

"It says here Scott had the keycards." George observed a notice paper beside the locked door. He knew Scott, a decent enough fellow. How could someone like that be involved in any of this? "All we have to do is find… is to find his body." He nearly choked on the last word. It was a unnatural thing to say about a colleague.

"We can investigate the passage on the floor above." Cindy suggested.

"We need to stick together." Kevin said firmly. He turned around. There was only one other door in the passage, best look in there. He pushed the door open carefully. "What the..?" Kevin pushed the door open fully. It was some sort of laboratory. Computers and a ton of paperwork took up one side of the room. A table took up the center. "What do they do down here?" Kevin wondered out loud. He heard something squish below his boot. He looked down, it was trail of blood, and likely the same one they'd seen on the above floor.

"These computers have the Umbrella logo on them…" Cindy said uncertainly. That wasn't too unusual; Umbrella supplied a lot of stuff to the hospital. The lab was still fairly unusual though…

"Look at some of the papers." Kevin commented, scooping one up. "Birkin and that pig of a Chief" Kevin read the paper. Chief…. "Irons?" Kevin wondered out loud. Thud.

"Yoko!" Cindy gasped. Kevin spun around. The small girl had collapsed.

"Shit!" He and George sat her back up and lifted her up on their shoulders. They sat her on a table. She groaned and put her hand to her head.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" George asked.

"My head again." She groaned. She would've fell over had the two men not grabbed her again.

"Just sit and rest for a few." George recommended. While Kevin and George were watching Yoko, Cindy picked up the paper and read through it.

"Guys!" She looked at the paper again, just to make sure she was seeing right.

"What?" Kevin asked. Cindy showed him the paper.

"It says there's a boat in the sewers." She explained. Kevin skeptically grabbed the paper.

"Wow, just wow." As it turned out, a researching of some sort did indeed have a boat for moving through the sewers. His purpose for such was a question to consider later. He put the paper back down. "All the more reason to find that keycard." Kevin noticed as he put the memo down that it was right where the blood trail began. That meant it might belong to whoever wrote it…that meant…. "I got it!" Kevin exclaimed. They others jumped, clearly surprised. He quickly explained his theory. "Whoever wrote this has access to the sewer, which means they have a card. This blood trail might belong to them. Which means we're bound to find the keycard if we follow the trail." He finished.

"It sounds probable." George commented.

"Then it's settled." Kevin said. "George, why don't you stay here with Yoko, she isn't looking so well. Cindy and me will go look." George nodded. It seemed like a ideal plan. "Okay, let's hurry before that leech thing finds us."

X

With a crash, the fencing fell and the zombie tumbled out from the little alcove it had been trapped in. Before it could even stand back up Kevin had put a round into its head. He stepped over its body to the door. He pulled out the card George had given him and ran it. The reader beeped and there was a click as the door unlocked. He pushed the door open and went in, Cindy followed him. The passage was and cramped mostly due to a large pipe taking up most the corridor. It was also warm; a crackling sound told them there was a fire or something down here. Upon further exploration, it was revealed to be a incinerator. "Do you think it'll find us down here?" Cindy asked. She had to speak up slightly to be heard.

"Not sure, let's hope not." Kevin pushed open the door at the end of the passage. The blood trail was still present. "Poor bastard, he must've bled to death." Kevin commented. It was a dead end room, meaning that the body had to be here.. Shelves with cleaning material were to the left. In front of them was a staircase. At the bottom was a little landing near a section of the sewer that by. Strange design, having the sewer runs through a hospital basement. In the corner of the room a body was hunched forward, no doubt recently dead. That had to be it. Kevin walked down and began, gingerly, checking the body's pockets. While he did that, Cindy noticed something through a gap in a pile of junk piled nearby, another body. If she stepped into the channel she could get there. While it was a task she did not look forward too, it might be the researcher. "Nothing here, he's just a regular civilian." Kevin said in a mix of annoyance and sadness. He turned when he didn't get a response. "Huh?" He stepped into the channel and walked forward a little. Hidden from sight by some garbage, a body was lying next to the channel. Cindy was looking at something. "Find something?" Kevin asked.

"There's a Umbrella logo on his uniform." She said. She noticed something clasped loosely in the mans hand. She knelt down and picked it up. It was a key, not a key card, but a padlock key. But what to? The corpse that been the previous owner of key suddenly grabbed her leg. Kevin raised his gun, but before it fired Cindy shrieked and stomped on the zombie's head with her free foot. There was a sickening sound as her heel pierced the zombie's eye.

"Ouch." Kevin commented. Cindy pulled her heel out of the zombie's head and looked at her stained heel in disgust. She swished it in the water to clean it. With an awkward smile she handed the key to Kevin. He gave it a quick look over and handed it back. He checked the rest of the pockets of the dead researcher, but nothing more of interest was found. "Great, now what?"

X

"I'm sure I've heard that name somewhere, I just don't remember." Yoko explained. George had asked her what had caused her to faint; apparently it had been the name in the memo Kevin had read. "Birkin…Somehow I just know that name." She said.

"Maybe you worked with him?" George suggested. Yoko shook her head. "I work computers at a Umbrella office on weekends. I've never heard that name before." And thus they arrived at a dead end.

While they waited for Kevin and Cindy to return, George had decided to look at some of the other paperwork scattered around. Most of them detailed experiments or studies. He didn't understand. The hospital wasn't a research center, so why was all this here? More disturbing were the reports themselves- experiment logs of leeches exposed to some agent. The same agent descending on the town right now?

"George!" Yoko called. She was standing in the doorway on the far side of the room, the one they had so far not opened. He went over to see what she was looking at.

"Huh?" George stepped into the room. A panel was right in front of him. A glass window above it shown into a closed off room. To their left was a opened electronic door leading into it. George looked at some of the buttons and dials on the panel. He realized it was a temperature control room for experiments. Just what were they doing down here?

They went back into the lab, slightly fearful of whatever could be in that room. George picked up another sheet. This particular paper had more details about leeches. It mentioned leeches in the sewer, and in particular a giant one. Despite the implication of that noun, the following sentence took all of George's attention.

"Leeches are vulnerable to high heat." George read the sentence over and over again. Could their luck really be that good?

"Come look at this." George beckoned Yoko. She read it.

"If we lure it into there, we can kill it!" She realized.

"But how do we lure it?" George wondered. Yoko didn't give an immediate answer. Instead she sat back on the table. It was a difficult situation- a solution was in front of them, but neither of them were exactly the 'take action' type.

"The leeches are infected just like people…the zombies attack people to eat them… so the leeches might be doing the same thing!" Yoko realized. George flashed back to the moment Hursh had been attacked. He had been wearing a bloody bandage on his hand. Leeches feasted on blood. It all made sense now!

"We need to find something the lure it." George said. Was he scared? Most certainly. But a better opportunity would not be found.

He stood up and looked around. There was a freezer in the corner of the room by the door. Maybe…just maybe… George opened the drawer and was met with a blast of cold air, but there were four blood transfusion packs there. Still scarcely willing to believe their luck, he took one. Now for the hard part. It was slightly unnerving to stand in the middle of the room. They wondered if they should wait for Kevin and Cindy to return. George dismissed the idea. For all they knew the creature was attacking them at this very moment. He looked at Yoko. She seemed scared, but nodded. George tore the seal off the pack. The contents spilled out and splashed over the concrete floor. They both stepped back and waited.

There was a crash from the room beyond. With a jolting bang, leech man threw himself into the door, knocking it down. He stood back up and went for the metal door leading into the room. His movements were swift and a bit clumsy. The blood was probably exciting him. It was scary to see such an abnormal being coming at you but they held their ground. Leech man fell forward onto the spot where the blood was. He began lapping it up as if he were a dog. The other two quietly and hastily made their way around him, guns pointed just in case.

Once they were safely outside Yoko hit a button on the panel. The door slid shut and there were clicking sounds as the door locked itself firmly in place. They quickly ran over to the panel and turned the heat to its maximum height.

Leech man seemed not to notice their departure, nor did he notice the increase in temperature. It wasn't until the monitor said ninety degrees did leech man stand up. He turned and stumbled towards the glass window. The temperature was now over one hundred. He stumbled back slightly. Leeches began falling off him and onto the floor, shriveling up in the heat. Leech man tried to go for the door, but couldn't. More leeches fell off. Leech man tried vainly to stand up again but it was use. He fell forward onto his face and all the leeches fell off his body and shriveled up. The pair waited an extra thirty seconds before shutting the machine off. After a minute the door unlocked and slid back open. "I'm going to take a look." George volunteered, having slightly more experience to deal with whatever grizzly scene was beyond.

"Be careful." Yoko urged. George stepped into the room, it was still warm. He looked at the body and was jolted by shock. That coat…. It couldn't be…could it? George walked around as to see the figures face. It was Hursh. His eyes were lifeless and clear. George felt a lump in his throat. They had just killed the same man who gave his life to help them escape. A thought occurred to him. If Hursh was the leech man that had been chasing him, then where was the one that had attacked him? "It's him? But how?" Yoko gasped. A feeling of guilt and realization over came them both.

"It had to be done." George said. His voice was slightly choked. "We had no choice. We can't stop to feel guilty; it'll only slow us down." Yoko hung her head down. There was a moment of silence.

" Hey, what's that?" Yoko asked suddenly, pointing. to something sticking out of Hursh's pocket. George reached over and picked it up. It was a key card that said B2 on it. B2…. The card reader at the end of the hallway… Why did Hursh have the card?

"It's the card to get into the sewers." George said. He stood up. Death was a unfortunate thing George had to witness, it was part of the job. But this was harder then anything else. On top of everything else the guilt nearly crushed him, but it would still do no good to admit defeat. A professional stayed calm at all times. There were still people that needed his help. He had to go on.

"George, your okay right?" Yoko asked worriedly.

"It was unfortunate that things had to go this way, but what matters is we can escape now." George said. "Lets go find the others."

X

As Kevin stepped out of the elevator into the passage Yoko came up to him happily. "Kevin look!" She showed him a keycard; it read B2.

"Holy shit, where'd you find this?" He asked, taking it from her small hands in surprise. George came up behind Yoko. Kevin noticed his rather depressed stature. "George…are you okay?" He asked.

"I'll explain at a later time, let's get going." He turned on them and walked down the passage.

"We managed to kill leech man, he had the key card. It was… it was the doctor that tried to help us earlier." Yoko explained.

"Oh." Kevin cast a sympathetic look to George. Loss. Would they know anything else?

"That's so sad." Cindy said. "I really hope he's okay." George showed no desire to discuss the issue, so nothing was said.

Yoko ran the card through the reader. After a tense second, the light flashed green and the door opened. "Somebody up there still loves us!" Kevin said. As unlikely as the idea was, there was a boat here, gassed up and ready. "We can finally get out of this town!" Kevin took the key from Cindy and unlocked the chain keeping the boat in place. "All aboard!" He called. They all piled onto the wooden boat. It was small and flimsy, but it would get them where they were going. "Quite a hospital here George." Kevin commented as he started the engine. With a gentle hum, the boat started forward.

"I can't shake a feeling though that something was wrong, that something happened here that should never have happened." George said.

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.

"The notes in there, they talked about experiments and testing, they talked about giant leeches. Something wrong happened in there. I can just tell." George explained. Kevin looked uneasy.

"Well, whatever happened there, at least we're far away from it." He turned to face ahead. "All we have to do now is-" His eyes widened. "Abandon Ship!" They all followed his gaze. A large mass was blocking the tunnel ahead, and whatever it was they were heading straight for it. They all jumped and landed face first in the water. The boat kept on forward and crashed into the mass, it's cheap hull breaking into several pieces. Sputtering and coughing, the drenched group stood up. The mass began moving. It came to its full stature and revealed its true form: A giant leech.

"You've got to be KIDDING me!" Kevin growled. Cindy and Yoko gasped. George was rendered speechless as the massive creature started crawling its way towards them. "Shit, shoot it!" Kevin ordered. He raised his machine gun and pulled the trigger. The other also fired at it. Bright bullets flew down the narrow tunnel, the sound echoing loudly. The hot lead didn't seem to work and the group started to retreat as the creature got nearer and nearer.

"Kevin, what are we going to do?" Cindy asked. Her gun was empty and she had no more ammunition. Before they knew it, the group was already nearly where they'd gotten on the boat. They couldn't go back; the hospital wasn't safe. The only way was forward.

"Quiet! I'm thinking." Kevin looked around for something, anything that could save their asses. A blessing appeared in the form of a gas line. The brick wall had crumbled, revealing a gas pipe running parallel to the sewer. They may still have a chance. "Keep luring it this way and don't shoot!" Kevin told them. Like the mindless zombies above, the leech kept coming at them. Kevin waited till it was right beside the exposed gas line and fired. There was a small explosion that sent shrapnel into the monster. A powerful blast of fire erupted from the pipe and directly into the leech. It gave some inhumane shriek and started thrashing around. As the fire beat down on it, the giant leech began to wither, and it's cries grew quieter. The gas line went dry and the fire stopped, but the damage was done. Still screeching, the burnt mass disappeared under the water. Several bubbles came up to the surface, but they eventually stopped. The giant leech was no more. The group stood there; scarcely able to believe they were still alive.

"Is everyone okay?" Cindy asked. They were drenched in dirty water and they were low on ammo, but they were alive.

"I think so." George responded. The realization they had cheated death yet again caused a state of tiredness within them. But they couldn't rest now.

"Well then…" Kevin said. He looked to where the leech had been and back to where they'd departed. "Guess we'll just have to walk."


	14. Flashback I

September 27th 4:38 P.M

Panting heavily, Alyssa tired to keep running. After brief naps on the train, the group had got to the station and fled through the streets to the mountains. Unfortunately, and as predicted, the mountain was infected as well.

At the moment the group found themselves running from a hoard of the same giant ant-like creatures that had confronted them in front of J's Bar. How long ago had that been? It felt like weeks. Jim was the furthest ahead; the little bastard probably didn't even care or realize they were behind him. David was someway behind him, occasionally looking back to make sure Mark and her were keeping up. Alyssa was some way behind him. In truth she could probably run faster, but her tight pants weren't helping, nor the heavy shotgun that was giving her blisters. Mark was at the end of the group. Despite his shortcomings, he was keeping up, though he didn't look like he could do it for long. Alyssa looked into the dark forest ahead.

There was a bad vibe in this place. Despite it being the afternoon, it was fairly dark. You looked into the trees and you felt like something was watching you. Some of the other papers in the city had done articles about some of the continuing disappearances in the mountains. Alyssa had a feeling they were about to find out the cause of those disappearances

"Gah!" Jim tripped on a tree root and fell face first into the dirt. As he passed him, David grabbed his collar and pulled him up. Jim stumbled a bit but kept running. They were screwed, it was at least nine miles to get over the mountain, and they wouldn't make it like this. From behind them came the sound of assault rifle fire. Apparently unable to keep running, Mark had turned to fight the creatures. David was the first to help him, pulling out his revolver and firing. At her range, the shotgun wasn't much use.

Alyssa dropped it and pulled her handgun out her pocket. Taking aim, she shot two rounds at one the creature's head. It gave a strange squeal and rolled over on the ground, dead. She kept firing as more of the creatures showed up. They apparently thought this prey wasn't worth the death toll, and began retreating. The survivors stood there, winded. Mark was hunched over wheezing. David walked over to make sure he was okay. Mark stood back up.

"I'm okay." He waved David back. Alyssa looked around, Jim had run off. It was just the three of them now. Mark stood back up. "Let's keep moving." At a slower pace now, the group kept on going. Mark definitely didn't look good.

"You okay?" Alyssa asked. The burly security guard nodded.

"I'm just old. I spent six years of my life running through the trees, I shouldn't have to do it again."

"Does this really remind you of the war?" Alyssa asked. Some of them had gathered behind Mark because he had experience. But if he started to become edgy…

"More ways then one. The death, the smell, the hopeless feeling of being over whelmed. Sometimes I think I'm back there." Mark looked around as he said this. "Where's Jim?" He asked.

"Little prick ran off and left us to fight." Alyssa told him.

"Let's see if we can't catch up then." Mark suggested. Alyssa snorted. They might've saved him back in the subway, but he had just left them to fight for their lives. Personally she wouldn't care if they didn't see him again. As it turned out though, he hadn't gone far. After two minutes of walking they found the cowardly subway employee scrambling around in the leaves. He screamed when he heard them approach.

"You want to attract every damn thing around here?" David scolded him.

"What are you doing?" Mark asked him.

"Sorry, I tripped and lost my gun." He continued searching the dirt floor.

"And just why was it that you ran when we stopped to fight?" Alyssa said pointedly. "You left us on our own, why shouldn't we just leave you on your own?" Somewhat to her satisfaction, Jim actually seemed scared.

"Because we have to stick together and help the weaker." Mark scooped Jim's gun up and handed it to him. "He's helped us before." Alyssa personally didn't see why Mark was sticking up for him. "Let's keep going." They kept moving in silence for the next several minutes. Jim spent the entire time as far from David and Alyssa as possible. Alyssa put a hand on her head. For some reason her head was beginning to hurt more and more. The forest gave her a strange sense of Déjà vu, but it didn't make sense; she'd never been up here.

"You okay?" David asked. Alyssa turned to face the man. He didn't really looked like he cared, but was still staring.

"Yeah yeah, you try to not get a headache with all this going on." She retorted. David simple turned back to face front. Mark put his head up, signaling them to stop. He brought his assault rifle up. Alyssa made sure the shotgun was loaded and the safety was off. They all looked around. The only sound was the wind. Cautiously, they kept walking. Despite the headache Alyssa kept he eyes sharp. God only knows what was out there. There was a rustling in the leaves to their left and they stopped again.

"There's something out there man." Jim said fearfully. There was a growling sound.

"Stay close together." Mark ordered. Alyssa found herself back to back with David. Another growl. Out of the trees exploded two dogs. Their skin was decayed and missing in some parts. They were infected. Alyssa pulled the trigger. One dog was blasted in two. Out of the trees came more of them. They fired again. Once there was a lull Mark ordered them to start running again.

"Man, what else is here?!" Jim shouted.

"Shut up!" Alyssa snapped back. Up ahead she could see something. It blended into the woods so well she had to squint to tell what it was.

"A building!" Jim shouted in relief. It was indeed a cabin. Talk about lucky, who lived out here anyway? Jim ran ahead of the group again and disappeared. It was small log cabin; it looked like it could barely house one person. Alyssa slowed down and looked behind to make sure Mark was keeping up. He nodded to her and she followed David in. Mark walked in and David closed the door. A bed took up the far corner of the room. Opposite was a small table with a photo on it. A shotgun was propped against the wall behind her. David picked it up and examined it. Jim flopped down on the bed. "We're screwed man, we're totally screwed! We can't make it across, not with all these things!"

"Now calm down." Mark told him. "We've made it nearly half way already, we can make it the rest." While Mark and Jim carried on with an argument, something caught Alyssa's eye. The picture on the table she picked it up. It showed a man and women on their wedding day. Something about the picture rung a bell in the back of her mind. She had seen this picture before, but where? Maybe it had been during one of her scoops?

"Are you nuts?! She's turning into one of them!"

"She just fainted, idiot." The first thing Alyssa was aware of was the voices of Jim and David. The next was a unbearable headache. Then she realized all she could see was black. She opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor of the cabin; the others were standing over her.

"She's awake, help her up." Mark grabbed her under one arm and David the other. They helped her up and sat her on the bed.

"What happened?" Alyssa asked, rubbing her head.

"You fainted." Mark explained. "It was probably battle fatigue." Alyssa groaned and rubbed her head again.

"What the hell are you staring at?" She snapped at Jim, who was standing on the other side of the cabin. He flinched. The group sat there resting for a while and checking their weapons. Eventually Mark cleared his throat.

"We need to keep moving, it'll be night soon, we can make it out today if we start moving." He turned to Alyssa. "Are you okay to move?"  
"I'm fine." She said irritably. She stood up. In truth, her head still hurt badly, but she wasn't going to admit it.

"Fuck that! I'm staying here." Jim sat on the bed.

"Do we look like we care?" David asked coldly. Jim paled slightly. He looked to Mark for support.

"Why would you stay here? Escape is just a few miles away." He asked.

"Why? Do you have any idea what's out there?! Did you see the news reports?! They said there's a giant monster with claws out there!" He put his hands in the air dramatically.

"They claimed they blew it up." Alyssa reminded him. One of S.T.A.R.S more far fetched claims had been of a 'Tyrant', a giant human creature with claws that Umbrella manufactured as a weapon. Though the idea no longer seemed impossible, it still seemed improbable.

"No good will come from staying here." Mark told him. "Everyone's best bet for survival is to keep going." At that moment there was a click as the cabin door opened. They all spun around. In the doorway stood a old man, older then Mark even. We wore a white shirt and brown pants. There was a tense silence. Despite the two guns aimed at him, the old man actually smiled.

"Well, I don't normally get so many visitors." He said. His voice was hoarse; he probably rarely ever talked to people.

"Sorry for intruding, we were chased here." Mark explained. This man had to be the owner; he had a decent resemblance to the man in the photo.

"Ah yes, I hear the city in quite a stir right now." He stepped inside and closed the door. David held out the shotgun he'd picked up. "Oh no, you can keep it, I haven't used it in years." He said. Jim moved as he took a seat on the bed. He looked at his guests. His eyes seemed to linger on Alyssa for a second but none of them noticed.

"We're trying to escape over the mountains, you should come with us." Mark told him.

"Well now, that would be a waste. I know a path that leads right into the next town, we can be there in thirty minutes." He said.

"Really? Can you show us?" Jim asked excitedly. Alyssa snorted quietly.

"I suppose I could." He stood up slowly. "We should probably get going now." He walked to the door. "I'm Al, by the way, Al Lester." For some unexplained reason Alyssa's headache flared up again.

X

"Who knew he could move so fast?" Jim complained. Despite his age, their guide was quite fast, keeping a steady stride just ahead of them. He led them through the trees, not slowing down or hesitating, always confident in his direction. Alyssa was getting more and more annoyed as they progressed, though this was partly due to her headache.

"Just a little farther." He called back. Two minutes later he looked over his shoulder, and then sped up. The group tired to keep up.

"Hey, not so fast!" Mark called. Al appeared to not have heard him and kept running ahead. The group broke into a run to try and keep up. Soon they were barreling through the trees in a effort to find him again. They broke out into a clearing and stopped. They were at the edge of a gorge. A few feet ahead of them the ground dropped straight down into a roaring river. An old and rotting wood sign was next to an equally deteriorated bridge. Alyssa stepped forward.

"Where'd that old geezer go?" She wondered out loud. The others seemed to be thinking the same. Jim leaned forward and read the sign.

"Arkley Hospital, back entrance." He read. Alyssa's vision suddenly blurred and her legs folded. David caught her before she hit the ground. A vision flashed through her head, but she was in too much pain to make sense of it. After a moment the pain subsided. Shakily, she stood back up. Normally she would snap at David to let go of her arm but at the moment she was grateful for the support.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked.

"Yeah." She breathed. She motioned David to let go. "Like you said, fatigue or whatever." She knew that was a lie, but for some reason kept what had happened to her self.

"Are you sure? Cause it looks like we need to cross this bridge."

"I can still walk." She said. "Though why do we need to cross the bridge?" She tried to keep her voice still. There was something extremely foreboding in her mind about crossing the bridge.

"Aren't many places that old man could've gone, and there might be medical supplies there." He explained. She was at a dilemma: Half of her mind screamed to not go, yet the other half, as well as the rest of the group, wanted to go to the hospital. In the end she nodded.

"Alright, let's go." She agreed. Jim was the first across, the bridge wobbled and swayed with the wind, but it held. David was next across. Alyssa crossed next. It was a bit nerve racking, the way the bridge groaned and moved, but she kept right ahead. David and Mark kept watching in case she collapsed again. Despite Mark's weight, the bridge held. Mark stepped back onto firm ground. They started moving again. Behind them there was a loud snap. They turned around. One of the ropes had snapped and the bridge was dangling wildly. The other rope snapped and the bridge broke apart and plummeted into the river below. The group stood there stunned.

"No turning back now…" Mark said. A short walk down the trail, the group found the hospital. "Must've been abandoned for years." Mark commented. The building was old and crumbled; most the windows were either broken or cracked. Somewhere a crow cawed. The most noticeable feature of the hospital was the large amount of vines covering it. Directly in front of them was a rusted gate, which led into a back parking lot. From behind it came a groan. The group brought up their weapons. Slowly, a slumped, lumbering mass came into view. No doubt another zombie. It turned and saw them. With another groan it began a hurried shuffle over to them.

"What the hell is THAT?" Jim asked. This zombie was unlike the ones they'd seen before. Its skin was a sickly green color. The top of its skull was split open and a strange plant bulb came from it. Vines were also wrapped along its arms and legs. It stumbled towards them, still moaning. Mark squeezed the trigger and a single bullet destroyed the zombie's head. A strange, yellow gas leaked from the pierced bulb. It's body hit the forest floor.

"Maybe the plants are infected?" David guessed.

"Don't see how a person can be turned into a plant though." Mark said. The yellow cloud dispersed.

"Maybe we shouldn't go in there…." Jim said apprehensively.

"We can't go back though." Mark told him. "All we can do if move forward."


	15. Flashback II

Mark pushed the door open and stepped inside. The inside was worse then the outside. Dust hung thick in the air, and little sunlight got through the dirty windows and cracks in the walls. But the building was still standing.

"A bit shabby, but it'll make good shelter for the night." Mark said thoughtfully. He stepped forward. It was a little hard to get room in the narrow hallway. They now had three choices: The stairway to their right, doorways to the left, and around a corner to their right. "Ok, what we need to find-" Mark was cut off as the door down the hall swung open violently.

They all jumped and stared. From out of the dark doorway emerged a man. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he had on a pair of brown pants and a blood hood over his face. In his two hands was a rusted and bloody axe.

"Who are you?" Mark demanded, cautiously raising his gun. The man didn't respond, rather, he lifted the axe above his head and charged at Mark with a war cry. The security guard fired but the bullets didn't seem to have any effect. The madman brought the axe down. Mark held his rifle up to block the blow. The axe grinded against the rifle. He swung again. Mark blocked again. The man kept swinging, and by some miracle Mark managed to block each swing.

David and Alyssa couldn't fire due to the risk of hitting Mark, and stepped back to give him room to move. Jim tried to put as much distance between himself and the crazed man as he could. The strange man swung again. Mark managed to dodge this one and the Ax Man lost his balance. Mark took this opportunity to slam the butt end of the rifle into his face. As the axe man fell back on the floor he yelled to run. They took off down the hallway and around the corner. The hallway was blocked by ruble so they barged through a door on the right into a hallway. Clearing a overturned wheelchair, they all ran into a room and slammed the door. They stood there panting and waiting anxiously to see if they were still being pursued. They waited a minute, then two, then five.

"Was that that old geezer that led us here?" Alyssa asked. She sat down on a cart. The room appeared to be a medical storage.

"Looked like it." David muttered.

"Look at that." Alyssa pointed to the other side of the room. It was a door; light could be seen on the other side. By all odds they had found a perfect escape route. "We should leave while we have the chance." She looked at Mark. "If you want to stay and try and find that little coward go head, but I'm going." Mark shook his head.

"I've had to leave men behind before, it still haunts me." Mark paused. "We're close to escape though, and it might be dangerous to go look…" Mark looked back towards the hallway. "Damn fool should've stayed put…But it can't be helped. We should get out of here while we can."

"A wise idea." Alyssa said. She felt a pang for the man, but shook it off. Why should she die for someone else like that? Jim wasn't that bad a person, but in the current situation…She shook her head again.

She turned to the door. As she reached for the handle, something strange happened. A vine suddenly wrapped around the door handle, holding the door close. "What the hell?" Alyssa said in surprise. David took out his pocketknife and stepped forward. From the roof another vine came door and wrapped around his arm. Bewildered, David tried to pull free, but the vine whipped around and flung him into the wall. He stood back up and drew his knife; the three of them quickly retreated to the door. "Are those plants alive?" Alyssa whispered in disbelief.

"Looks like it." Mark confirmed. He reached behind him and turned the doorknob. "Move slowly." They backed into the hallway.

"Now I get all the interesting events." Alyssa muttered. "What now?"

"Keep moving." Mark told her. "There might be something we can use to get past those vines."

'

They retraced their route and turned down another hallway. Mark looked around, slightly hopeful; though Alyssa and David didn't see Jim as a priority, Mark couldn't stomach abandonment as easily.

The door at the end was locked. Rather then risk noise of breaking it down, they went down the staircase to their left. In the narrow hallway below a large plant was blocking the passage. A large, orange pulsing thing seemed to be staring right at them. They avoided it and walked into a door on the left labeled 'Intensive Care'. They all stopped in the doorway. Taking up the center of the room was a giant, crusted mass.

"The hell is that?!" Alyssa whispered. All around the rest of the room doctors bodies were suspended by vines to the ceiling, most of them had plants blooming from their heads like the one outside. Other vines moved, some of them apparently 'staring' in the groups direction.

"Back up slowly." Mark ordered tensely. Alyssa and him did so, but something caught David's eye. Lying just a few feet away was a doctor's body. Unlike the rest his body showed no signs of mutation, or even zombification. A dead vine lay beside him; something was clasped in his hand. Cautiously, David approached.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alyssa demanded. Holding a knife with one hand, David reached down and pried the object from the doctor's hands. It was a syringe, half full with some green liquid. He backed out of the room.

"What is it?" Mark asked. David didn't answer. He walked over to the pulsing thing and looked at the syringe in his hand. He stabbed the needle into the thing and pushed down on the hammer. Immediately the plant began to whither and died. In a matter of seconds it was shriveled up on the floor. Other vines in the passage wound up the same way.

"Got anymore of that?" Alyssa asked, surprised.

"Must be some sort of poison." Mark said. "That might help against those plants. There's bound to be more around, lets keep looking. The passage now unblocked, the group carried on. However, there was only a storage closet at the end.

"Great, a dead end." Alyssa said in annoyance. Mark and David observed the shelves. She noticed a dusty notebook on the ground and picked it up. A frown appeared on her face and got deeper as she read on. It was a detailed journal about two men who had become trapped in the hospital. Part of the journal mentioned a chemical that could kill the plants. The stuff David found, she thought to herself. The last few pages were hastily written, telling of them being stalked by that lunatic. She turned another page: it was covered in blood. She dropped the journal back onto the floor. They were not the first to be trapped here, and if they didn't do something they certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Are you okay?" Mark's voice brought her back to reality.

"I'm fine." She said, trying to hide a slight sense of fear coming over her. "It's just…here, you read it." She picked to journal up and handed it to Mark. He read through it.

"Poor souls." He murmured. He read on. "A chemical…" He mused. The looked around the room then disappeared down one isle. "Over here!" He called. David and Alyssa went to see what he had found. It was a small tank. The vines around it were dead and a green liquid dripped from the nozzle. "I think we found our tool for escape." He explained. David still had the empty syringe, and filled it up. Mark grabbed a box of syringes from a shelf and distributed them so that everyone had four. "These can kill the plant, so all we need to do and get back to that room. We'll take extra incase we find anymore in the forest."

After filling up the syringes, they made their way back up the stairs. They could get out of here and escape now… As Mark stepped back into the hallway, the Axe man appeared with another war cry. Mark barely got out of the way as the axe smashed into the door that had been locked and broke it down. David took their opponents off-balanced state for the opportunity to grab the man and hurl him down the stairs.

Someone had yelled run, but in the heat of the moment they all ran different ways; Mark ran through the door that had just been, and David and Alyssa ran back the way they'd came. David turned and run down the hallway back to where they'd entered the hospital, Alyssa meanwhile jumped over the wheelchair. With this syringe she could get through that door. Right before she reached out to grab the knob however, an axe came into contact with the wall right in front of her. She stared in surprise. How the hell did he get in front of her? He raised the axe again. "Damnit!" Alyssa swore. She didn't have any other choice then to turn and run the way David had gone.

X

Mark stopped suddenly as he realized no one was following him. "David? Alyssa?" He called out. Nothing. "Shit." Mark swore. The enemy, now likely to pick them off one by one, had separated them. Mark considered his options. He couldn't risk another melee with that man; only luck had got him through the last skirmish. As much as Mark wanted to see his new friends safe, he also wanted to survive and see his family again. He really had no choice but to go on and hope they could handle themselves. He did so with some confidence; they were all able. Even Jim.

Mark continued along the hallway, only to find it blocked. Weak light streamed through a hole in the roof, a tangle of vines also fell through the hole. What now? Mark wondered.

Behind him was the sound of footsteps, that madman. Mark looked back and then in front of him. He reached out and tugged on the vines hanging from the hole. They didn't break He still had a chance. He climbed up the vines like a net wall. He found himself outside a utility walkway. He continued forward.

The area in front of him was a mess of vines and giant flowers. He looked up at the rest of the building. The vines led up that way, and he could see even bigger plants hanging from the roof. Maybe the brain was up there? If all the plants were alive, something had to be controlling them.

He could go kill it, but it was a task he did not look forward too. They could just wait and kill the vine holding the door closed and escape, but then again that madman might be blocking it on purpose. What if the plant was controlling that madman? After seeing the city anything sounded possible now. Mark thought about this, weighing the possibilities. Finally, he decided that it would be in the best interests of everyone's survival. Now that just left getting up there…

He spotted a ladder on the side of the building, slightly covered in vines. It was a very long ladder, one that apparently led all the way to the roof. Flanking the ladder, however, were to pulsing flowers. Mark approached cautiously. One of the plants suddenly sprayed a large mist upwards. Poison, Mark realized. His sleeve over his mouth, Mark pulled a syringe out and approached one of the flowers and stabbed it. The plant withered and died in seconds. "A lot better then napalm." Mark remarked. He stabbed the other flower. The ladder was now open for use. Mark looked up uneasily again. He wouldn't lie, he was old, and one mistake meant certain death. But how else would he escape this place and see his family again? Mark sighed. "Honey, sometimes it's the thought of hearing your voice again that keeps me going." Mark said out loud and began the rather dangerous climb.

X

"God Damnit, I really don't deserve this." Alyssa growled. She had lost David, and was now holed up in an office on the second floor. There was something hauntingly familiar about it, though she couldn't quite place it. Sighing, she sat in a armchair by the window. Her head hurt like hell. She heard the doorknob to the office turn. She grabbed her shotgun off the floor and kept it pointed. Rather then the undead though, it was David. "Jeez, mind knocking before you enter." Alyssa said. Her head hurt to much to think of a better remark. The man said nothing though she was sure he was staring at her. "I'm fine." She snapped. She almost doubled over from a wave of pain that hit her head though.

David didn't press her any further, though he did keep watching her through the corner of his eye. While he went and looked out the window on the far side of the room, Alyssa tried to make sense of things. This place felt so familiar, but she knew she'd never been here, she would've remembered. And that old man seemed familiar too…but why?

A sudden sound caused her to look up. Part of the wall had moved, revealing a hidden passage. David, who was leaning against the wall, seemed just as surprised as her. They exchanged glances. "What type of hospital is this anyway?" Alyssa wondered out loud.

X

Panting, Mark hauled himself up and off the ladder. It had not lead to the roof as he had predicted (and hoped), but instead into a small room right below it. Most the floor had caved in, making moving very difficult. Mark worked his way around the hole and through a large hole in the wall. Now on a stone ledge, Mark carefully edged his way around, looking for a ladder or something that would lead to the roof. He found no ladder, but instead another tough patch of vines. He hauled himself up. He was now on the roof.

"Still got some strength in me." He remarked. A large mass of vines and flowers took up a corner of the roof; a large pulsing orb just like the one downstairs could be seen. Mark heard a buzzing sound and turned around. Bees? Up in front of him hovered a giant bee, angrily buzzing. Mark brought his rifle up and fired. A bullet tore the bee's head apart and its limp body plummeted back down. Another bee appeared, flying around to avoid being hit. He missed several times, but finally managed to hit it. The rifle clip only had nine bullets left, and Mark reloaded. Bees were gone, now he could get the plant, and hopefully escape afterwards. Mark reached for a syringe.

Grunting, the Axe man hauled himself up and over the edge. He stood up and charged. Mark fired the entire clip and the gun clicked empty. Mark had no chance to reload as the unaffected axe man swung. Mark managed to back up in time so that the axe only severed the guns sling. Recovering quickly, he swung again.

The axe knocked the rifle right out of Mark's hands and sent it skidding across the roof. Screaming, the man raised the axe and brought it down. Mark reached out and grabbed the axe, causing the blade to stop literally two inches from his face. Desperately, Mark swung around, trying to loosen the man's grip on the blade. This failed, but it caused the axe to move away from his face. Grunting, the Axe man tried to wrestle the axe away from Mark. The two of them were locked in combat for the axe. Mark tried to think of a plan. He could shove the man back and go for his handgun, but bullets wouldn't do much good…. Another idea came to him, if he could manage, it just might kill this maniac.

Mark pushed forward, causing the axe man to take step back. All he had to do was push him towards the edge and throw him over. The axe man turned his head just for a second and seemed to realize Mark's plan, for he tried even harder. He yanked left and right in an attempt to get Mark to lose his grip on the weapon, but it only weakened his stance. Mark pushed him farther back, right by the edge. Now even more desperate, the axe man growled and began pulled violently to reclaim his weapon.

"Have it!" Mark yelled. As the axe man pulled again Mark let go. The axe man stumbled. Mark took this opportunity to ram his shoulder into the mans chest. Already off balance, the axe man fell over the edge and plummeted down the side of the hospital. Mark watched as the screaming man fell and disappeared into the trees.. His cry was cut short by a sickening thud that echoed throughout the quiet forest. Mark stood there wheezing. Through another miracle, he was still alive. That bastard had fallen at least six stories, he was dead, he had to be. Coughing, Mark slumped down on the roof beside his rifle. "I'm getting to old for this shit." He complained.


	16. Flashback III

XX Author's note XX

The original chapter had a scene in the POV of the Axe man, but I cut it out of this one. Looking now, it seemed kind of forced.

X

Ever so cautiously, Jim quietly pushed open the door of the locker, confident now that his hiding spot had no been disturbed and there was no sound. As soon as they'd been attacked, he'd fled to the first hiding place could find: a locker in the staff room. He'd stayed there for a good ten minutes while running and gunshots were heard outside. He hadn't heard anything since then.

He did hope they were okay though. What did that freak want with them? Jim didn't want to know. All we wanted was to get the hell out of the building. Just being here made him feel like he was being watched…

Jim cracked the door and cautiously peered into the hallway. There were three ways to go, but Jim made straight for the way he'd come from. The others would've done the same, right? It didn't matter if the bridge was out; getting as far away from this hospital was the first thing on his mind.

Jim was just passing the stairs when a loud crash made him jump. Coming from the very same hallway they'd entered from, the axe man stumbled into the corridor, bruised and bloody. Jim didn't clamp his hands over his mouth fast enough to stop the sound of terror from coming out. The axe man raised his head and grunted, standing to his full height.

"Ah!" Jim fell sideways onto the stairs as the axe man charged at him. Taking advantage as the man stumbled, Jim got up and ran down the passageway and through the door the axe man had originally come from.

The new room might have been a lab at some point, or a screening room. Jim was too terrified to tell. He looked around wildly for anything to help him, unlike the handgun in his pocket. Upon noticing a locker, his instincts immediately shouted 'flight'.

The axe man blundered into the room a second later, looking about for his prey. From his new hiding place, Jim nervously watched as the slouched man prowled through the room, praying all the while that he wouldn't be found.

Likely feeling cheated, the axe man slammed down his weapon on a rotting table, breaking it clean in half. He swung his head around. Jim was almost certain he was looking at the locker. He took two steps towards the hiding place, then stopped and looked up at the ceiling. With another grunt, he charged out of the room. Jim breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't leave his hiding place for a good three minutes. When he did, he did not dare go back to that door. Instead, he went though the next door to look for a alternative route.

Jim couldn't tell what the next room was used for, because it had been thoroughly been covered by mutated plants. Jim was completely stunned by the sight. "What the fuck happened here?" He wondered out loud.

Jim did not see the zombie that snuck up on him. But he felt its cold, dead hands grab his shoulders. He screamed and jumped forward, only for a living vine to wrap around his legs and pull them out from under him.

Jim rolled over and screamed again. The zombie was even more hideous and decayed then the ones in the city. The flower on its head leaked some sort of fluid all over its grey face. Jim yanked out his handgun with shaking hands and fired, missing on the first shot. Panicking, he turned and shot at the plants on the wall. The vine released him, and Jim ran for it.

The zombie, unsatisfied with letting its prey escape, tackled Jim into the next room, though Jim's frantic struggling prevented it was being able to bite him. Jim broke free and jumped up while reaching for his gun. The zombie grabbed Jim's ankle and Jim fired directly into its head.

Some sort of mist erupted from the zombie's head without warning and Jim inhaled some of it. His throat and eyes immediately began to burn and tear up. Jim dropped his gun and stumbled backwards, coughing violently. Panic overtook him. What was that stuff? Was he infected? His eyes burned so much that the world blurred and Jim had no idea where he was going. Coughing and swearing, with pain building in his chest, he stumbled out of the room.

X

After a brief (and very vulgar) argument, Alyssa had agreed to stay put while David investigated the passage. Upon ascending a stairway into an office, David had encountered a swarm of infected bees. Despite their increased size and hostility, David had no trouble dispatching them with his shotgun, though his shotgun was now low on shells. He pushed open another door and found himself on the roof of the building.

A large amount of vegetation was attached to the side of the building and the roof itself, covering the generators and cooling units that previously ran the hospital. Several large, pulsing flowers covered the thin stretch of roof still accessible. They almost seemed to be breathing. David hated flowers as they usually were, but giant ones? A thick blanket of fog was descending, blocking out the view of the forest from here. David looked up at a sudden cracking sound. Most of the plants on the side of the building were now withering and dying. Several giant slabs of concrete suddenly broke off from the side and came tumbling down. David backed up against the door as the heavy slabs landed and shattered in front of him. Several also fell and crushed the flowers. David waited till silence set in again.

"What the hell?" He wondered. He looked up; half of the side of the building had nearly fallen off. He was also certain the building had collapsed internally. He wondered where Mark was. One of the things people unfairly labeled David as was cold.

This was not true, he was not a bad person, and he didn't want to see any more people die. But the truth was he just wasn't a people person. Most people simply annoyed him, like cowards and people who were either too cocky or arrogant (like a certain police officer they'd been working with), or people who were childish or just too sweet (like Cindy), he couldn't stand people like that. But he wouldn't just watch them die. There were some people he didn't have any problems with, such as George. In truth the only person he held any respect for was Mark, based on the older mans serious attitude and wisdom.

Cautiously, he proceeded forward and under a large vine. He walked to the edge of the walkway and stared out at the forest. Nothing could be seen save for the tips of trees. He shook his head. There wasn't anything of interest out here, best to go back. But as David turned around the stone beneath him, weakened, caved in. With a grunt, David hit the tile floor of the patient's room below him. "God Damnit." He swore and stood up; there was no getting back up there.

Instead, he pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway. A zombie suddenly grabbed him from the right. David grabbed the creature's face to prevent it from biting him. He slammed it's head into the wall repeatedly. Dazed and freshly bleeding, the zombie stopped trying to scratch him. David grabbed the back of the zombie's coat and forcefully shoved him towards a window. The zombie crashed through the glass and down the side of the building. That out of the way, David looked for options. The hallway itself was blocked of by a mass of vines, no getting through. The only place to go was a door on the opposite side of the hallway. The next room held something of value, another pulsing plant organ. David took a syringe from his pocket. Hoping that this wouldn't cause the building to collapse entirely, he stabbed it in.

X

Mark dropped off the last step of the ladder and sat down. His chest and joints hurt. He was really too old for this. He had not expected the building to collapse, and hoped with all his energy none of the others were hurt. At least his rifle still worked and he was able to retie the sling. As he sat he heard another rumble. After several seconds it stopped. Shit, he thought, the inside must be caving in. He forced himself up and retraced his steps. The only problem was, the walkway had collapsed. Now how was he going to get back to that room? He didn't really have a choice, so he hopped down the new hole. His legs didn't hold and he fell on the floor rather hard. Coughing, Mark stood up, even though the idea of just staying down was very tempting.

Walking down the hallway, he nearly tripped on something. Mark looked down. It was an old rusted axe. Mark reached down and picked it up. This could help against the plants… None of those creatures could grow back limbs, right? Walking further, Mark found yet another gap in the floor. Sighing, the veteran eased his way down.

"I guess the Good Lord is watching over me." Mark murmured. He was in the back in the room with the door; he'd practically taken a shortcut. But there was a problem. Rather then the one vine from earlier, there were at least a dozen vines wrapped on the door now. As crazy as it sounded, that plant was trying to trap them here, even if they had killed off most of it. He looked down at the axe in his hands. "Hmm." Mark mused and raised the ax. Before he brought it down, a crash outside grabbed his attention.

Ax held high, he stepped back into the hallway and round the corner. He almost dropped the axe in surprise. "Jim!" Mark dropped the axe so he could prick up the man coughing and gasping on the floor. His eyes were tearing and his breath was ragged, as if air couldn't get through his lungs. Mark had seen some similar happen to a Lieutenant in Vietnam and knew exactly what it was: poison.

X

Alyssa watched as David disappeared into the passage. She still could barely believe this hospital had something like that. She lied back down on a office sofa, rubbing her head. What the hell was wrong with her? She sat up suddenly as the building shook. Now what? She was slightly irritated and slightly afraid. What if the building collapsed?

She got up and picked up her shotgun. Moving slowly, she stepped out of the office into the hallway. Everything looked normal. At the end of the hallway was a large tangle of vines, entangled so much she could see nothing on the other side. There were the stairs to her left, and then there was a door on the left side of the hallway. She hadn't been in there yet…had she?

Her headache flared again as she looked at the door. A strange feeling came over her, a feeling that seemed to urge her forward. She groaned and rubbed her head again. But the door still called to her. Almost against her will, she stepped forward. The faded letters on the door said 202. She looked around and slowly turned the knob and stepped inside. \

It was just a normal patient room, with old rusted beds positioned against the wall. Why the hell had she wanted to come here in the first place? She looked around. There was nothing of value here, absolutely noth- "Gah!" The by far most excruciating headache came over here. The shotgun clattered to the floor and she fell over onto the head. She gripped her head tightly as scattered images and voices came to her. She got up and stumbled out of the room, inwardly begging for the pain to stop. She fell forward onto her knees. Breathing out through gritted teeth, the pain ebbed slightly. Wearily, she stood up, using the wall to support herself.

"Kurt?" She whispered. To say she was confused would an understatement. Kurt, how did she know that name? She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Had David come back? Or Mark? A shadow appeared on the wall; someone was coming up the stairs. Her eyes widen when she saw the new arrival. It was that lunatic with the axe.

His exposed torso was heavily bruised and scratched up, with freshly crusted blood as decoration. What the hell had happened to him? Breathing heavily, he stared at the unarmed women slumped against the wall. He raised his axe. Alyssa stepped back anxiously, now deeply regretting dropping her shotgun. He charged. Alyssa flung herself sideways right before he hit her. Scrambling up, she tried to run away. With a cry of fury, the axe man hurled his weapon at her. She screamed as the axe hit her and embedded itself in her ankle. He feet flew out from under her and she hit the floor. Groaning as her vision darkened, the last thing she saw before passing out was the mass on vines in front of her starting to rot away.

X

David tensed at the sight he saw as he opened the door back into the hallway. It was that man with the axe, and he was standing over Alyssa, looking down at her. Was she dead? No…he could see her chest still rising. She was alive.

The man had his back turned to David. He had one chance, and only one chance. With the ease of practice, David crouched and silently moved towards the man. At the same time he pulled out his pocketknife and brought out the blade. The insane man bent down and tried to pick Alyssa up. When David was only a few feet away, he lunged.

He plunged the knife into the side of the man's neck. He screamed as bright red blood spurted out of the wound. He spun around only to be knocked to the ground by David's fist. Spinning the shotgun around like a bat, David slammed the butt into the monsters face repeatedly. Even after the man stopped moving David still kept swinging. Finally, he stopped. The axe man was lying to the floor with a hole in his neck and a bashed in head; he was dead, he had to be. David reached down and pulled the mask off to reveal the bruised face of their assailant. Just as he predicted, it was the same old bastard who'd led him here.

"Sorry buddy, choose your prey more carefully." David tossed the shotgun down beside its former owner and knelt next to Alyssa. There was a bruise on her head and there was a large gash on her leg that was bleeding. Before they'd got here, they'd dispersed the items they had found in the first aid kit they'd retrieved from the subway. He pulled out the first aid spray. Judging by how dirty that axe was, the cut was probably already infected, but something had to be done.

He pushed the top and sprayed the wound. It foamed up some as it killed the germs and bacteria. Alyssa shifted but did not wake. Next, David tore off some of the sleeve of his workers jacket and wrapped it around. It was a poor excuse for medical attention, but it was the best he could do in these circumstances. He put one arm under the bend in her knees and the other under her back and lifted her up. With any luck, the damage he'd just inflicted would have killed the vines holding their escape close.

X

Mark pushed things aside and read the labels on dusty pill bottles, angrily tossing useless ones aside. He was having little luck finding a cure for the suffering man behind him. They were back in the room with the door to their escape. Being a storage, Mark had been sure it antidote for Jim. Not only had the vines grown tighter, but now he had to care for a casualty. Things were not good. He heard the door turn behind him. Surprised, Mark grabbed his assault rifle and pointed it at the new entry.

"Put that damn thing down and help me." David said. Mark dropped the rifle. It was David, and he was carrying Alyssa. A wounded Alyssa.

"What happened?" Mark demanded.

"The guy attacked her with the axe. I killed him, but she was knocked unconscious." David explained.

"He was still alive?" Mark asked baffled. He shook his head. "Set her down." He ordered. David obeyed, eying Jim as he did. "Poison." Mark explained. "I can't find a damn thing to help him either." He looked towards the door. "If we can get outside we might be able to find one of those herbs, but the vines still won't give."

"I killed the vines on the second floor." David said.

"I killed a bunch on the roof, nearly caved in the building. There must be another one somewhere." Mark pondered everything, trying to think of some angle they might've missed. "The intensive care unit." He said suddenly. David looked at him questioningly. "That shell thing in the basement we passed, what if it's the brain or the core of everything?" He grabbed the axe off the ground. "If we break in open, we might kill all the plants in the hospital." David nodded. "Let's hurry before these poor souls pass away." The two men left the room and ran for the stairs, David picking up the axe along the way.

They pushed the door open carefully. "Looks like we did some damage after all." Mark commented. While the shell had been sealed earlier, it was now severely cracked all over, including a giant crack in the middle. The inside was clearly visible: moist, green, and pulsing. The vines on the ceiling that weren't dead were swinging around violently. The thing was on its deathbed and yet it still resisted. "I have an idea." Mark told David. He pointed to the vines on the ceiling. "Take out the ones closest the center. I'll go grab that tank from the other room and bring it in here. If I pour it into the center, it should kill it." He finished. David nodded.

"Alright."

"Be careful." Mark urged, and left. David stepped inside, axe at the ready.

"Down here!" He called. The vines started lashing at him. David swung the ax, severing each of them as they came near him. Mark reappeared, carrying the liquid tank with ease. David hacked a path for him through the hostile plants. Mark arrived at the center and held the tank up above the defenseless core.

"Do it!" He yelled. David swung the axe into the top of the container. The contents spilled out and right onto the exposed center of the plant. The fleshy inside of the core turned black. The vines of the ceiling shriveled up in seconds. The vines attached the to the core that snaked out through holes in the ceiling and wall all withered as well. A loud cracking sound made them look up. Throughout the building there was suddenly a lot of crashing.

"Whole buildings coming down! We need to get out of here!" Mark yelled. The roof above them caved in and nearly crushed the two men. They barreled out of the room and up the stairs, dodging falling rubble as they did. This building was so old and weak that the plant had been the only thing keeping it standing. They turned into the hallway but stopped suddenly. Their door was blocked, and by none other then Al. His face was a mask of fury.

"You killed her." He whispered. "You killed her!" He yelled. He was scratched up and covered in his own blood, but he still stood tall, the axe clamped tightly in hands.

"It's over, now get out of our way!" Mark ordered. Al shook his head.

"You killed her… she was my wife and you killed her…I won't let you leave."

"I don't care!" Mark aimed his assault rifle up. "My family's out there waiting for me and I ain't letting a crazy old bastard like you get in my way!" David casually raised his revolver at the man. Still clearly angry, Al raised his axe and charged at them once more.

XX Author's Note XX

Looking back…maybe not the best cliff hanger; I tried to catch the heated and desperate feeling the music gives you when you're escaping and he just pops up out of nowhere. Tried, anyway. We are also at the half way point now; this was the 21st chapter of when it was originally posted, there's only 22 left, and as they're longer, I probably won't compress them like I did earlier chapters.


	17. Flashback IV

XX Author's Note XX

This part was purely speculation on my end, but I still feel the need to keep it in the story.

X

Panting, Al struggled to stand back up. While a flurry of wild swings had been enough to send Mark and David retreating further down the hallway, Al was just too injured to keep going. A heavy slab of concrete landed on his back and knocked whatever breath was left out of him. His axe fell from his hands. He cast one last look of fear and anger at the two and limped off.

"Crazy man." Mark muttered. The building shook violently. They only had seconds before it collapsed completely. Upon returning to the storeroom, they found the vines had kept the door closed were now lying on the floor dead. Mark kicked it down and grabbed Jim. While helping Alyssa up, David noticed that she was awake, but her eyes were wide, and she seemed to not even realize he was there.

"Move, move!" Mark urged. They fled into the forest. Behind them, the hospital collapsed in on itself. It sent a large cloud of debris outward, but the survivors were able to outrun it. They kept running, trying to get as much distance between them and that horrible place as possible

X

Jim groaned weakly. They had found some wild blue herbs (said to be able to cure poison), but so far they didn't seem to have much effect. Jim was still alive, though he could just barely chew the leaves. Alyssa's leg was bleeding profusely now despite the first aid spray. They didn't really know anything about herbs. They regretted getting split from the others now more then ever. Alyssa was sitting against a tree, the same empty expression on her face. Mark had pointed out the danger of shock, but there was really nothing they could do now. Jim wearily sat up, and even that seemed to be too big a task.

"You'll live." Mark told him. Jim nodded. His skin was pale and he looked as if he would throw up, but his pulse had steadied. Mark turned to Alyssa. "Can you hear me?" He asked. It seemed to take his words a moment to reach her. She blinked and looked at him, apparently just now noticing there were other people here.

"Yeah." She replied absentmindedly. She looked around. "How did you we get here? What happened to Lester and the hospital?"

"Dead and destroyed." Mark told her. "You were knocked unconscious. We managed to kill the plant and escape, but the building fell in." Mark gave her a brief summary of what happened. Alyssa looked back to way they'd come.

"Damn Umbrella." She muttered.

"Huh?" Mark asked confused.

"That hospital was full of experimental medicine." Alyssa stated. "That was what mutated that plant, those zombies, and that old man." She paused. "When I was unconscious I remembered some things. I'd been there to that hospital before. It's a long story." She explained. Mark sat down on a fallen tree and David walked over and leaned on one next to Alyssa.

"Go on." Mark told her. It was pretty obvious she really wanted to tell someone.

"It was a long time ago, 93 I think." Alyssa began. "I was just starting as a journalist then. Al Lester use to be the administer at this hospital. A lot of people started dying here mysteriously. A friend of mine, Kurt…" Her voice choked; there was a look of pain in her eyes. It was all quite unusual considered her regular attitude. "He was determined to find out what was happening at all cost. We learned from a inside source that Umbrella was giving experimental medicine to patients there. No matter what Kurt or me did, they refused to give us answers. We tried to interview Al a few times but he was the same. Kurt grew impatient with the cover up, so he came up with a plan.

X

_1993, Raccoon City press office_

_"Are you insane?" Alyssa asked her companion. The other man shook his head._

"What else do you suggest we do? The cops won't do anything and Umbrella is refusing to admit anything, we have to reveal this case before anyone else dies."

"Kurt, you suggesting we break into a hospital. It's a bad enough reputation that Ben is in jail, can you imagine what happens if we get caught? Have you heard any of those rumors about what Umbrella does to trespassers? Or how they handle competition? I am not putting my ass on line."

"So you'll pick a lock to get into someone's car but you won't break into a building?"

"Shut up." Alyssa retorted

"Besides, just imagine what we'll get if we expose this, medals, publicity, all that!"

"I'm pretty and smart enough to become famous without breaking the law." Alyssa told him.

"Alyssa, listen, we both have morals. Think of all those poor people and their families, left without the truth. What about them huh? Act tough all you want, you feel sorry for those people." He stared smugly. Alyssa scowled. She wanted to argue, but couldn't.

"…damnit Kurt." She said. "If this backfires-"

_"It won't." He assured. "Now listen, there are two very important needs to need if we want to do some major damage." He looked around the small office cubicle, checking to see if anyone was listening. He leaned forward. "Okay, so here's what'll happen…"_

X

"He came up with a plan to get into the hospital." Alyssa explained. "He even found out what room one of those test patients were in. The plan was to get in there and get evidence of the medicine, and a picture of the effects it had on the patients." Alyssa explained.

Mark rubbed his chin. "I think I remember reading in the paper about those incidents." He said. "There wasn't that much information, though."

"Umbrella covered it up." Alyssa said as-a-matter-of-factly. "There was no one left to expose the truth after what happened…"

X

"_Ok, it's time." Kurt said. The two of them were hiding behind a car in the back parking lot, watching as the last person left. It was almost nighttime; the building would be much less crowded and protected now. "Ready?" He asked._

"Yeah I guess, I still don't see why you had to bring a gun though." She eyed the bulge in his jacket pocket.

"You never know." He told her. The car rolled out. They moved stealthily to the employee's door. "Your turn." He motioned. Alyssa pulled out her set of lock picks and worked on the door. After a minute of work, it clicked.

"Got it." She told him. She turned the handle and gently pushed the door open. They moved into the hallway. All was quiet.

"Okay, the room we're looking for should be right up these stairs." Kurt motioned to their right. They creped up the stairs, stopping only when they saw the shadow of a patrolling security guard, though he eventually turned and went the other way. Kurt stuck his head around the corner. "All clear." He said. They made a short dash down the hallway to a door, room 202. "Listen, stay here, I'll go in and investigate."

"Wait, why do I got stay out here?" She asked angrily.

"Cause they don't know you. I've been caught snooping plenty of times. If they find me again they might shoot me. But if they find you, they'll just try and catch you. You can outrun them."

"Gee, thanks." Alyssa said sourly.

"Just wait here." Kurt told her. He opened the door and crept in. Alyssa stood uneasily outside. That security guard was bound to come back any moment now. It would all worth it, she kept telling herself. A lot of people would stop suffering when this evidence came to light. Kurt and her would likely get an award as well. Nothing opened up major job opportunities like fame, either.

_She flinched as a piercing scream and two gunshots shattered the uneasy silence. That idiot! What the hell was he trying to do, wake the whole building? Alyssa pushed the door open, an insult already on the tip of her tongue. She froze and gasped in horror. "Alyssa…" Kurt muttered weakly from the floor. The patient of the room was lying on top of Kurt, chewing viciously on his side. _

_"What the fuck is your problem buddy?!" Alyssa kicked the insane patient roughly in the face. She gave a sickly groan and rolled over. She didn't get back up. Alyssa knelt down beside her companion. "Kurt?" Alyssa asked worriedly. There was a hole in his side where that freak had tried to chew on him. It was bleeding profusely as well. Alyssa didn't know much about first aid, either._

_"Help me up, we need to get out of here. Now!" He coughed up a bit of blood. Swearing, Alyssa_ _helped her injured friend up and shouldered him out of the room. He was right; if they got caught now, there was no telling what would happen. They'd broken in, and now had assaulted a patient._

_"Hey! Stop!" Someone shouted. Alyssa looked over her shoulder to see the security guard pointing his weapon at her. She turned back and fled down the stairs. Kicking the door that they'd come through open, she carried Kurt into the parking lot. They had parked the car on the side of the road a few hundred yards down the road, but it would take to long to get there._

_Alyssa was starting to panic. Kurt was injured, and now they were being chased. Nothing good would come of surrendering either. They had to escape; it was the only option._

_She spotted an old trail into the woods. Kurt was leaving a steady trail of blood behind them, making it impossible to escape undetected. But whatever prolonged their capture… Alyssa carried Kurt into the woods, panting. She wasn't use to this type of activity. To their dismay, the trail stopped at a bridge over a steep gorge. _

_"C'mon Kirk." Alyssa helped her friend across. The bridge wobbled under their weight but held. _

_"Alyssa, wait." Kurt whispered. "Set me down." He ordered. Alyssa cast a look back across the bridge and then at her injured friend. She set him down against a rotting signpost_

_"Kurt…" She wasn't sure what to say. Even in the dark it was easy to see his skin was very pale. Alyssa could still hear the people chasing them in the darkness._

_"Turn back." Kurt told her. "Run."_

_"I can't leave you here!" She said. Voices drifted to them from across the bridge._

_"Shoot them on sight!" Someone was yelling._

_"Alyssa, go." Kurt told her._

_"But- Kurt!" She screamed as he slumped over._

X

Alyssa stopped. She looked close to tears. "I don't remember anything after that. I'm not sure what happened, I must've stumbled back into town after that. I think I was so traumatized that I just forgot everything about it." She guessed. Mark, who had been listening to the story will a frown, stood up and stared back at where the hospital had been, then back at Alyssa.

"Horrible." He said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." But Alyssa shook her head.

"No, I needed to remember that, I couldn't hide forever." She looked in the forest around her. "Umbrella is responsible for everything, every death, every soul. I swear that I'll get out of this place and avenge Kurt. I've got enough pictures and have seen enough to crucify them. I'll write the article that brings those bastards down."

"That's good, you need motivation to keep going." Mark told her. He looked up into the sky. "It's getting dark, that isn't good."

"We've run the wrong way, the city is half a mile behind us." David said.

"Shit." Mark swore. He shook his head. "This place is hell on earth, we were fools to think we could get out. Staying is only going to get us killed." The others realized the truth in his words, even if they didn't want to. "We need to get back into the city and find shelter. When the sun comes back up, we can decide what to do then." A cold win blew at the survivors. They shivered, but for other reasons.

David helped Alyssa up. The blond seemed to be more active and alert now, but still shaken. As the group, now unfortunately only with two effective fighters, walked down towards the city skyline, Alyssa found herself staring back into the forest. So many secrets, so many lives… Alyssa wondered how much would've been different is they'd gotten that story out. But she realized it wouldn't make a difference now. But what would make a difference in the future, was to make sure Umbrella couldn't cover up this incident. That thought firmly in her mind, Alyssa looked ahead to the city- to more evidence.


	18. Below Freezing Point I

September 28th 1:34 A.M

The group had grown increasingly frustrated as they kept going. They'd gotten lost in the vast labyrinth that was the Raccoon City sewers. And then they'd got lost in a set of utility tunnels. Tired, hungry, and frustrated, they'd somehow managed to wonder onto an underground section of train track. They had trekked through the long, cold, and dimly lit tunnel for hours before finally admitting defeat. Their spirits and hopes sunk, they'd decided to rest for the night.

Yoko yawned and snuggled closer to her backpack. She could feel Kevin's warm body beside her, peacefully sleeping. Despite her best attempts, Yoko could not return to sleep. Yawning again, she opened her eyes and sat up. Aside from the gentle snoring from her new friends, the tunnel was quiet. At least the zombies wouldn't find them here. Yoko sighed. Her head really hurt, more then ever after the hospital. That name on the memo -Birkin - why did it seem so familiar to her? She wondered what she should do, since the others were still asleep. She looked down the dark tunnel; maybe she could investigate a little further? But then again what if the others woke up and wondered where she was? Or if she was attacked? Even with the gun David had given her she couldn't really defend herself. Then again, she had a good feeling. Maybe just a few paces?

A few paces had turned into a nearly seven minute walk. But it had been worth it. Yoko stared up at the large steel gate. UMBRELLA was written on it in bright red letters. Was this their track? Why did they need it? Did they have something down here? But this also meant something else, coming this way had been a dud, the gate blocked them off from going further. She realized this meant she had to go tell them. Sighing, she turned around. Would they ever get out of the town?

As she stepped forward though, the gate behind her made a strange clicking sound. She spun around as the gate rose. Seeing a train directly in front of her, she panicked and jumped off the tracks. But the train didn't move. There was a set of steps up onto the platform. She contemplated going up there. It would probably be the safer option to go get the others. But something seemed to draw her forward. She stepped onto the walkway.

Almost immediately she saw someone, women, with her back turned further up the platform. She wore a yellow shirt, got light brown hair, and had a brief case in her left hand. Yoko's footsteps alerted the women and she spun around, a pistol in hand. Yoko jumped back as a bullet nearly hit her in the foot. The women stared at her in a mix of surprise and suspicion. Something about her seemed hauntingly familiar. A name appeared in the front of her mind.

"Monica?" Yoko asked. The women looked slightly surprised, but smirked.

"Didn't think I'd see YOU here again." She put emphasis on the word. "After your little 'incident', I assumed you went and hid under a rock like the little child that you are." What was she talking about? What was she doing?

"What's in that capsule?" Yoko eyed the case, it appeared to be heavily modified to carry hazardous material. Monica immediately tensed up and became defensive.

"Wait, WAIT, are you after this too? You are aren't you! Oh you are so..,"

"Stop it! I don't know what you're talking about." Yoko stuttered, bewildered by the woman's sudden aggression. Monica snorted.

"Don't play the innocent little girl with me, you can't fool me, you could never fool me." She stopped and looked at Yoko for moment. "But maybe we can work something out…" She jabbed her gun at Yoko. "Give me your ID card." She ordered. Her ID card? Why did she want that? Aware of the gun still pointed at her, Yoko slowly removed her ID card from her back pocket and held it out. Monica set the brief case down and walked over, gun still leveled. She snatched it from Yoko's hand. For a moment there was a look of utmost joy on her face. She tucked the card into her pocket. "Yoko you little life saver, I'm glad we had this chance to catch up." She grabbed the case. "Have a nice life, what's left of it anyway." She said sarcastically before turning and running down a corridor. Yoko stood there, unsure what had just happened. She remembered Monica now, they'd been friends, good friends. What had caused her to act like that? What did she mean by 'incident'. She was aware of the sound of running footsteps and turned around. Kevin came and jumped up at the platform.

"Are you okay?" He asked and looked over her to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"We woke up and you weren't there, we were worried." Cindy came up, followed by George.

"I heard a gunshot, what happened?" Kevin asked. Yoko thought for a moment. How much could she tell them? She trusted them, but there was something strange about this place, about Monica. She couldn't quite place it.

"I saw a women here, she shot at me and ran off." Yoko told me. It wasn't necessarily a lie.

"Another survivor? Which way did she go?" Kevin asked. Yoko pointed to the corridor Monica had run off through. "Right, stay here." He checked his gun and proceeded. "Hello? Police, here to help." She heard him calling out. She felt a bit guilty. But something in her told her not to tell them. "There's no one here." Kevin called back. They all went to join him. They were standing at the base of a large sloped elevator. Monica had probably taken it. There was, however, a set of stairs to the side.

"Just what is this place exactly?" George asked.

"Looks like some sort of secret government facility." Kevin responded. He looked at the stairs. "Maybe there are people here who can help us…" He said thoughtfully. "Stay behind me." He ordered. He led them up the steps. The walk soon became a very steep climb, with everyone tripping on the steps more then once.

"Considering that this leads up, wouldn't that place us far below the earth?" George called from the back.

"We can't be THAT far down." Kevin called back. "Hey, I see something!" He called. He picked up the pace. Yoko struggled to keep up with him. She soon saw what he'd meant. The elevator was stopped, apparently snagged in the chain meant to carry it up and down. "Shit, it's broken." He reported. The elevator shifted sudden and jerked down. For a second they were afraid it was going to plow into them but it snagged again.

"That was close." Cindy commented.

"There's nothing for us here." Kevin said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "All we can do is go the other way in the tunnel." They all turned around. Yoko, however, kept standing there. So that was it? It couldn't be. Monica had to have gone somewhere. Yoko had to find her again, ask her what had happened, and what she'd meant. She saw a vent up in the wall, the cover missing. It looked big enough for a person to fit through…Monica? Maybe it led somewhere? The chances were slim, but it was better then doing nothing. She had to find Monica. Yoko was admittedly small, probably the shortest in the group behind Jim, but she was just tall enough for her hands to reach the vent.

"Yoko? Are you coming?" Cindy called. The other woman was already further down the stairs. "Yoko?" Cindy repeated as Yoko looked at the vent. Yoko jumped up and gripped the edge of the vent. Her feet dangling for a moment, she managed to pull herself up.

"Kevin!" Cindy called back to the cop.

"What?" He turned around. "Hey!"

"Yoko, where are you going?" Cindy called. Their voices got less loud the further Yoko crawled. She kept going for what seemed liked minutes. The vents were a maze, with different ones going in different directions. She just kept going forward. There was light up ahead, which meant something. She was so fixed on what was ahead of her that she didn't notice the vent cover she had crawled on. It gave way and she fell out and hit the cold metal floor.

Groaning in pain, she rolled over. And came face to face with a dead person. She screamed and scrambled back. Feeling her heart hammering inside her chest, she stared, expecting the corpse to get up and attack her like the others. But it just lied there. She sat there another moment, trying to calm down. Above there was a rustling and Kevin dropped out of the vent, landing on his feet.

"There you are! What the hell's your problem? You could've got killed!" He stressed. The corpse behind him twitched and sat out.

"Watch out!" Yoko pointed to the threat. Kevin spun around as the zombie lunged at him and fired with his machine gun. The bullets went up through the zombies chin and exited out its head. It fell back into the spot it had been before.

"Guess that plague or whatever got down here too." He commented. He helped Yoko up. "Why did you run off?" He asked. Yoko guessed it was time for some honesty.

"There was gate blocking the tunnel, it said Umbrella, this is their facility." She explained.

"Umbrella?" Kevin asked. "You think this whole mess started here?" Yoko nodded. "Well… we need to find a way out, might as well do some digging while we're at it. But stay close to me and don't run off." The hallway they were in only led two ways, one into a dead end. "What the hell does Umbrella do here?" Kevin asked. The room they were in had a chemical shelf, stocked full of many bottles labeled HAZARDOUS. They wisely did not linger in this room. "You said you worked for Umbrella didn't you?" Kevin asked. There wasn't any suspicious in his voice, just mild curiosity.

"Not full time, I'm a student at the University, I work in one of their offices on the weekend for money." She explained. Kevin gave a nod and didn't say anything else till they arrived in the other room.

"Wow, looks like something from an alien movie." Kevin commented, staring at four empty tanks. They were filled with some sort of greenish liquid. Aside from two computers and a couple of desks, there was nothing of interest in this room. They continued through another door into another hallway, but stopped when the hallway split into a T-way. There were doors visible down both ways. They decided to keep going the way they'd been going. As soon as they set foot into the shaft they were aware that it was cold, very cold in fact. But they quickly forgot that.

"It affects plants too?!" Kevin exclaimed in shock. A ladder was present to their right that led up the shaft, but beside it was a giant plant. It had busted right through the floor by the looks of it. It went up the entire shaft and had vines jutting out and wrapped around the vines.

"Yoko? Is that you?" They both jumped as someone behind them spoke. They turned around to see a man sitting in the corner. He wore the same Yellow shirt as Monica and the zombie, but it was covered in blood. A shotgun was lying beside him. Yoko stared at him. He said her name so casually, but she'd never seen this man before in her life. Kevin was quicker to respond.

"Are you hurt? Yoko! Give me that first aid kit George gave you!" He ordered. Still a little bewildered, Yoko grabbed the kit from her backpack and handed to Kevin. The cop simply turned it over and spilled its contents on the floor. He grabbed a can of first aid spray that started rolling away. "Here." He handed it to the wounded man. The man muttered thanks before spraying the medicine onto a hole in his shirt. He handed the spray back to Kevin.

"Here, you'll find more use with this then me." He handed the shotgun to Kevin. The cop slung his machine gun over his shoulder and picked it up. "Never thought I'd see you again." The man turned his head back to Yoko. "Did you transfer or something?"

"How do you know me? I've never seen you before." Yoko stuttered. The man looked surprised.

"You don't remember?" He shook his head. "Should've expected, it's been at least a year or two." What did he mean?

"Listen," his breathing became a bit heavy. "The train to evacuate is up there, top floor, but that plant is blocking the way."

"A train?" Kevin asked. The man nodded.

"The whole place has been in chaos for a few days, ain't sure why. Haven't heard from the other floors either. But listen, we got some chemicals on this floor, ingredients to V-JOLT. It'll kill the plant and then you can get up the ladder."

"And how do we get this?" Kevin asked.

"There's instructions on it back in the lab. One of the chemicals is in the storage room, the pass code is 4793. I don't know about the other one. You got all that?" He asked.

"Yeah, we got it." Kevin nodded. "Hang on, we'll be right back." He and Yoko exited the shaft. "Okay, we need to get that chemical and get to that train." He declared.

Back in the lab they'd passed through, Kevin was pushing through papers, trying to find the one the dying researcher had mentioned. Yoko was helping, albeit half-heartedly. How had that man known her? She was so busy thinking about Monica and what had happened that she didn't hear Kevin the first time he said he'd found the memo. It took a light tap on the shoulder to bring her back to reality.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked.

"I'm fine." She nodded. Kevin looked unsure, but nodded.

"Well, let's get going, George and Cindy are probably worried about us. There should be a way back to them if we get past that plant."


	19. Below Freezing Point II

XX Author's Note XX

I slightly rewrote the way Monica perished in this version of the story. I did read a fan fiction with a similar set up, but the idea mainly came from seeing a lot of arguments on fan boards. No infringement in intended.

X

The door slid up and they both stepped inside. Having retrieved one of the chemicals for 'V-JOLT' from the chemical storeroom, they were now searching for the other. There was really only one place left to look: a door ominously marked with a biohazard symbol. They winced as the sound of sirens filled their ears; several hazard lights were flashing. Kevin looked at the biohazard suits hung on the wall.

"This could be really dangerous…. stay here." He ordered, handing the ingrediant to Yoko. Upon stepping into the room, he found that it was a testing chamber. A large window showed a hunched form in there, probably another zombie. Also visible was a section of the wall that had been broken through by the vines of that massive plant. Though what caught his eye was the medal canister on the floor. The only way he was going to get it was going inside.

He looked at the buttons on the panel, pressing the one for the door. As the door slid open the zombie looked up and around. The window was apparently one-way because he zombie didn't notice Kevin despite looking at him several times. It slowly lumbered towards the door. Kevin kept his gun trained at the doorway. As the former scientist appeared, a .45 caliber bullet splattered his brains all across the wall. He fell limply to the ground.

Kevin entered the chamber and approached the canister, keeping his gun on the vines as he did. He quickly glanced at the label to make sure it was the chemical they needed before grabbing it and quickly retreating. He joined Yoko in the hallway. "Got it." He said. "Now let's go get that plant, these sirens are giving me a headache.

They carefully made their way back to the cold duct. Yoko carried the ingredients while Kevin kept his gun trained for any possible threats. In particular, he focused on the security cameras on the wall. Were they being watched? How many people were still in this place? They entered the duct and stopped.

"Damn, he's gone." Kevin muttered. The same man who had given them the shotgun and instructions to make V-JOLT was dead. He'd bled out in spite of the first aid spray. "Poor guy." Kevin shook his head. He turned around and stared at the plant, the enemy. Yoko was beside him. Since Kevin hardly remembered anything of chemistry from high school, he'd let Yoko mix the chemicals. He stared at the plant in a mix of fascination and distrust.

People turning into flesh eating monsters? That wasn't so bad, given they'd partially adjusted. Crazy leech zombies and giant leeches? That was pretty bad, but they'd lived. Monster plants? Now that something Kevin wasn't sure he could handle, what if it attacked them? Sure, being a S.W.A.T officer gave him the ability to deal with all this crazy shit so far, but for how long? As they progressed through this nightmare, things became stranger and more fucked up. Kevin was not a coward; he had a strong determination to get as many people to safety as possible. But he had doubts he could last if things got much worse.

"It's ready." Yoko said quietly.

"Okay, give it here and stand back." Kevin ordered. He picked up the chemical filled with the dangerous chemical. "Let's see..." There was one part on that plant that was brown and ringed around a light brown center; an eye of sorts. It could be a weak spot…

Cautiously, Kevin approached the unusual spot and emptied the contents of the canister on it. The effect was immediate, and Kevin had to step back. The vines that had stretched over the walls and ladder fell limply away and withered or lashed around wildly. The stalk deflated and turned a ugly shade of black. The eye of the plant spat out some sort of liquid. The entire plant went still, and the only sound in the shaft was the gentle roar of the air conditioner.

"Alright." Kevin pointed towards the ladder. "Let's go."

X

"Ow." Cindy muttered as she landed ungracefully on the hard metal floor. George extended a hand to help her up. "What is this place?" Cindy wondered. Worried, they had both decided to follow Kevin, despite the cops directions to stay put. After crawling through the confusing labyrinth of vents, they had fallen in to a hallway. The hallway branched into three different directions. "Kevin? Yoko?" Cindy called out, hoping to get a response. Nothing.

"Lets keep going." George suggested. "They might be in another room." They proceeded down one of the hallways.

"What…What is this place?" Cindy asked apprehensively. They were in a large computer room. On the far side of the room, several bodies were slumped over a large security system. Several of the monitors on the wall were dead, but others shown locked off sections of hallway and laboratories littered with dead bodies. Another corner, one beside them, was a strange tank filled with green liquid. Some strange shape was suspended within the liquid.

"It almost resembles a frog…" George commented. A giant frog…"Let's keep looking."

"George…these uniforms…they're Umbrella employees." Cindy said, looking at one of the corpses. George looked to where she was pointing. It was, in fact, the Umbrella logo, even the company's name.

"This is their facility…" George realized. He turned back at the tank in the corner of the room and back at the vast security system. "There's no way this can be a legitimate facility." He realized.

"Oh god, everything S.T.A.R.S said about them was true! What if there are monsters here?" She looked fearfully at the tank. George frowned. As much he wanted to say the whole monster thing was ridiculous, he could no longer accept that after everything he'd seen.

"We can't be blinded by fear, we must remain calm or- George was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open. They both spun around. It was Kevin and Yoko. Both pairs stared at each other in surprise.

"You guys are okay! Are you hurt?" Cindy asked.

"No…But what the hell are you guys doing here? How'd you get here? I said stay put!" Kevin said sternly.

"I'm not a child, we can both take care of our selves." Cindy shot back. "We were worried about you guys." Kevin rubbed the back of his head.

"Fair point, but I don't want anyone else getting hurt." He looked around. "You guys have any idea where we are?" He looked at the security system. George pointed to the tank in the corner of the room.

"The claims the police made were right, Umbrella is conducting illegal research." He said. Kevin looked at the creature suspended in the tank.

"I don't even want to think about what that thing is." He turned to the group. "We're in dangerous territory, we have to stick together no matter what got it?" They nodded. "Alright." Kevin went on. "A researcher on the floor below claims there's a train to escape this place two floors up. There's a ladder in the shaft that way." He pointed to the door Yoko and him had come through. "But the ladder to the next floor isn't lowered, we need a valve or something."

"Logically, it should be somewhere on this floor." Yoko put in. Kevin nodded.

"Right, so lets start looking." As they walked over to the only other door in the room, Yoko went up to Kevin.

"Thanks for not saying anything." She whispered in his ear. Kevin nodded. The next room was apparently a break room. A small alcove to their left had a small kitchen in it. In front of them was a large table with papers, food, and snacks discarded on it. Some lockers took up the rest of the room. Silently, the group dispersed. Kevin checked the lockers, and the other three searched the vast sea of papers.

Yoko was the first one to find something. "This is from a maintenance man!" She held up the paper. Kevin skimmed through it quickly.

"Ah hah!" He said triumphantly. "There's one back in that room!" He nearly left the others behind in his haste. He marched back into the room and stopped before one of the unnoticeable panels on the wall. A panel which was unfortunately bolted to the wall. Undaunted, Kevin grabbed the edges on the panel. It bent and the screws rattled, but the panel didn't come off.

"Come…on…god…damnit!" Kevin swore loudly and shook his sore hands. The panel couldn't be wrestled open with sheer force. "Okay, all of you stand back." Kevin ordered. He backed up and pulled out his .45. "I'll shoot the bolts, the bullets might ricochet." When the others had retreated a safe distance, Kevin took aim and fired. The bullets were able to destroy the screws easily. After hitting the last one, Kevin tried again to pry the panel off. This time it came off easily, revealing the valve. "Great!" He grabbed it and unscrewed it. "Let's hurry up and move."

X

Monica turned to key in frustration. "C'mon, c'mon!" She growled. But no result came from it. She looked around and the ice coating the train. "Great, something else I have to fix!" She said, exasperated. It wasn't that cold in this damn facility. But still, it'd all be worth it. The briefcases contents would ensure her a rich life till she died.

There was a crash from the hallway. Monica froze. She could hear something moving out there. Probably another stupid zombie she'd have to waste a bullet on. She picked the briefcase back up and walked back towards the hallway. She'd put that zombie down and go find the temperature control panel. But when Monica found the source of the noise, her annoyance evaporated, replaced entirely by sheer terror. The monster was horribly mutated, but there was no mistaking who it was from what tattered clothes remained on it's horrid form.

"Birkin, I…I wasn't going to…I wasn't…" Monica stuttered wildly, staring at the scientist and then at the case in her hand. Could he sense it? Did he know what she was doing? Fear took over and she simply emptied her pistol in her former boss. It did nothing; the horrific mutation didn't even move. Birkin stared her in hatred and let out a savage grown. Monica whimpered as he approached her.

X

"How horrible." Cindy commented, staring at the dead remains of the plant Yoko and Kevin had killed.

"It's like the leeches and the zombies: accidents." Yoko told her. The ladder clicked in place.

"Okay, let's hurry up and get to that train." Kevin was first up the ladder. The others followed him. There was another door on this landing, but the ladder kept going up to the floor they wanted.

"Maybe we should look? There might be supplies." Cindy suggested. Kevin didn't want to take any risks, but he had to admit she had a point. Kevin opened the door and peered down the hallway. A large shutter locked the hallway down; a body was slumped against it. But it wasn't dead. The man looked up at the sound of the door opening. Kevin approached the man.

"A cop? Down here?" He seemed surprise. "Civilians?" He asked when Kevin called George over.

"He's been shot." George reported. "It went through, he's bleeding out."

"Yoko, is that you?" The man asked. Kevin and George looked back. The small girl had been hiding behind Cindy, though she did step forward when her name was said. "You came back!" The man laughed. "Guess Frank owes me five bucks." He began coughing up blood violently. The wound in his stomach began bleeding profusely.

"How do you know me?" Yoko demanded. The man seemed shock. "It's me, Zack, you don't remember me?" Yoko shook her head. "Greg?" Yoko shook her head again. "Surely you remember Monica, you two were best friends."

"What is Monica doing? Do you know? Tell me please!" She begged.

"Wow, you got off with getting your memory wiped instead of the firing squad, Birkin really pulled some favors for you." He commented. Yoko sat back. That name again, and what did he mean about her memory? "Yoko, listen to me. Monica stole the G-larva; it's Doctor Birkin's most prized experiment. She killed Frost and shot me. Listen, you have to stop her." He reached weakly behind him and pulled out a Desert Eagle Magnum. "I stole this from the supervisors desk, should put a good hole in her chest." He began laughing; it got weaker and weaker though. Despite George's best efforts, he couldn't stop the bleeding. Zack died laughing. Yoko looked at the man. He had given her more questions then answers. She soon realized that Cindy and George were staring at her.

"I…I don't have any idea what he was talking about." She said apprehensively.

"Who's Monica?" Cindy asked.

"She…she was the one who shot at me, she stole my ID card and ran off. I don't know any of these people! I've never been here before!"

"Easy…" Kevin put his hand on her shoulder. "We're not accusing you of anything." Yoko knew this, but she could still see the questioning look in their eyes. "Here, let me take the magnum, I can use the bullets for the one in my leg holster." Yoko nodded and handed it over. There would be no way she could fire it anyway. They all silently agreed to drop the subject for the time being and keep going. On the next landing though, they stopped uncertainly.

"It's so cold." Cindy commented, rubbing her arms. Cold air could be seen coming from under the door. When Kevin opened it he was met face first with a blast of compressed, freezing air.

"S-shit." His teeth were chattering. But regardless, he went forward. The others followed, it's not like they had anywhere else to go.

"How cold do you think it is?" Cindy could see her breath in the air as she leaned against George for warmth.

"It can't possibly be more then 30 Degrees." George said. Through the fog they suddenly came face to face with something. Yoko screamed and jumped behind Kevin. Kevin kept his shotgun up, but whatever it was didn't move. Whatever it was, it was frozen in ice. It looked just like the mass in the tank on the lower level, a frog standing on two legs.

"What the fuck were they doing here?" Kevin tapped the frozen mass with the tip of his shotgun. "Keep moving, we'll freeze staying still." It was very dangerous, coming into this frozen hell, but the train was here, it had to be. The doors up ahead were dented so they had to go down a hallway on the right. "Holy shit." Kevin stopped in the doorway.

It was another shaft, though this one was much larger then the last. Three metal walkways bridged out from a center shelter in the middle. Looking down all you could see was a thick fog. It was a long way down. "Don't look down, keep looking forward and follow me." Kevin ordered. The group made it halfway over the walkway before a loud fluttering noise made them stop. It became louder and louder.

"What is it?" Cindy asked, looking around. At the back of the group Yoko suddenly let out a piercing scream as something grabbed her.


	20. Below Freezing Point III

"Yoko!" Kevin yelled in panic. A giant moth had fluttered down from above them and fastened its claws on Yoko's shoulders. As it lifted back up Cindy and George grabbed Yoko's legs, desperately trying to keep the monstrosity from flying away with her. Kevin aimed the shotgun up and fired at the creature. It screeched and pulled up harder, nearly lifting all three of them off the ground. Yoko screamed as the claws dug deeper. Kevin fired again.

Hit twice, the moth quickly decided that this meal wasn't worth it and released Yoko and flew off. As she collapsed back on the walkway, Kevin kept firing at the retreating beast till the shotgun clicked empty. The cop tossed the useless weapon over the railing and unslung his machine gun. "I'm starting to get real tired of this shit." He complained. He turned back to were Yoko was shaking and moaning in pain on the ground. Cindy and George were trying to comfort her.

"It's okay, it didn't get you." Cindy said in a soothing voice. George was observing the wounds the creature had left. Yoko's shirt was torn and blood stained from the two gashes the moths claws had left. Blood was still pouring freely from the wound. Since her legs were too shaky to support herself, Kevin and George had to carry the poor girl. They chose one of the random walkways and proceeded forward. Kevin kicked the door open with his free foot and they continued.

"We're here." Kevin said. In front of them was a turntable with an ice-encrusted locomotive sitting there. By the looks of it the turntable was meant to go up. "Let's get onboard, it's bound to be warmer." As Kevin had predicted, it was actually less cold in the train then outside. Their body heat also made the compartment tolerable in due time.

The two men set Yoko down on one the seat and George and Cindy began to attend to her wounds. Kevin meanwhile investigated the cabin of the train, taking particular interest in a map hung loosely on the wall. Kevin looked at the map, taking note of where they were and then of the other rooms. One stuck out to him- the temperature control room. Odds are this turntable wasn't going to go up unless the ice melted, and for that they'd need to rise to temperature. He decided that he would make the journey. He walked back to where the others were.

"I'm going to need you to take your shirt off so I can stitch the wound." George explained. Yoko blushed slightly.

"Hey, listen, I know where the temperature control room is, I'm going to go there and turn the cold off." Kevin told them. They nodded reluctantly, unwilling to leave Yoko but also worried about Kevin not returning.

"Be careful." Cindy pleaded.

"I'll be fine, don't you worry." Kevin opened the door and walked back outside. "Man it's cold." He remarked as the warmth he'd enjoyed for a brief moment vanished. As he walked back towards the walkway, he noticed something shining on the floor. He picked it up; it was a I.D card. He flipped it over. "Huh, well I'll be damned." Kevin muttered. It was Yoko's card, it had a name and a picture that seemed to be taken a few months or so ago. He'd give it back to her when he returned. But then what happened to that women that had stolen it? Kevin went on with a little more caution.

Kevin moved quickly through the shaft, keeping his gun in the air in case that moth returned. But it seemed to have decided to avoid this area. Kevin passed another one of the frozen creatures and headed down the walkway to the hall where the temperature control room was. Pushing the door open slowly, Kevin spotted more frozen frogs. In front of him the door was heavily dented, and to the right a shudder closed by a card reader blocked the hallway. But it didn't matter; the room Kevin wanted was to the right.

It was very difficult to open the door, as it was encrusted with ice. By the time the lock finally turned, Kevin was pale and his nose was running. He stepped into the room and reared back. It was far colder in here, maybe about negative fifteen degrees. He mentally scolded himself. It had to be done, even if killed him. He entered his room and fought his way through a dense fog. At last he spotted a control panel. A dead researcher was slumped over the panel; there were deep gashes in his back. Kevin wondered if it had to do anything with the frog creatures outside. Kevin saw that the researcher was holding a lever down. No doubt that was the problem.

"Sorry buddy, but I gotta do this." Kevin grabbed the hand and tried to pull it off. With a sickening crack, his fingers gripping the lever stayed and simply broke off from the hand. Kevin jumped back and the body slumped to the floor. Even by cop standards, that was really fucking creepy. Reluctantly, Kevin tried to push the lever up. It wouldn't budge. Swearing, Kevin put more force but the lever wouldn't budge. "Shit." He swore.

What now? Staying in this goddamn icebox wouldn't help though, so he quickly retreated out of the room. He had to find something that would help him unfreeze that damn lever. Kevin looked at the card reader in front of him. An idea occurred to him. Yoko had worked for Umbrella, and if that women had wanted her card wouldn't that mean it was important. But if it was, then why did that woman drop it? Kevin decided to think about the last part another day.

He pulled out the ID card and put it through the reader. He held his breath was second and then relaxed when the light went green. The shutter went up, revealing another frozen frog that was just a little to close for comfort. Unfortunately, another obstacle stood in his way, a fingerprint scanner. Kevin highly doubted putting his own down would do any good, and the heavily plated door would definitely hold up against a kick. He contemplated going back and getting Yoko. But what was the point of dragging the poor girl into the cold was there anything of interest in that room? Still, curiosity overcame him. Another idea came to Kevin. Braving the cold, Kevin ran back into the control room and pried the researchers fingers off. He realized how morbid this was. Strange times drove you to strange things. He walked back into the hallway.

The cold was really getting to him, he'd probably drop dead in the next five minutes. Placing the severed fingers on the panel, it hummed as it scanned them. The light turned green, and there was a click as the door opened. Much to his relief, it was a bit warmer in this room. Warm, but creepy. Strange tanks lined the walls, all but one had something floating in it. The empty tank had blood smeared on it, no doubt belonging to the decapitated body lying at its base. Looked like a bullet wound. The tag on his Umbrella shirt red 'Frost'.

;killed Frost and shot me.' The researcher they'd found had said that. That means the women who robbed Yoko and shot two men might definitely be here. He made a mental note to shoot her on sight.

Kevin spotted something on one of the tables, a blessing, a gift from god. "This is all WAY too convenient." Kevin remarked as he grabbed the blowtorch. He made haste back to the control room. Using one hand to fire the blowtorch and the other to push the lever, it finally came free. Kevin pushed it up all the way. Immediately the machine taking up the center of the room stopped. After a moment it began pushing out nice warm air. "Ah yeah." Kevin sighed and sat down in a chair, taking in the warm air.

As the fog cleared Kevin saw a folder and a notebook lying on the ground. Normally, he'd think nothing of it, but something caught his attention. A picture was next to the folder, showing some sort of green creature standing up on two legs. Frowning, Kevin picked it up and looked at it. It showed something you might see in a horror movie. It resembled a cross between a frog and a lizard. It had a soft underbelly with the rest of it's body covered in rough, green scales. Both arms had sharp claws at the end, which easily resembled the marks on the researchers back. It had a series of spikes on the back of it's neck and large teeth bared in a predatory grin. Below the picture, written in bold letters, was HUNTER R. Kevin reached forward and grabbed the folder. Upon opening it, he found more pictures as well as a file.

Hunter-125 R  
Purpose-Bio-Weapon  
Method of creation-combining strains of the t-virus with reptilian DNA.  
The rest was random gibberish, at least to Kevin.

Kevin flipped another page. This one showed a series of pictures of the Hunters slashing though training dummies. The next few pages were the same stuff, accompanied by notes by observers. Kevin noticed a Umbrella stamp at the bottom of each page. Disgusted, he threw the folder back down. Umbrella was manufacturing illegal weapons! Monsters even, all under their noses!

An ugly possibility occurred to Kevin, what is the whole situation in the city was a Umbrella experiment? The thought filled him with rage, rage at all the poor and good people that had died. Kevin grabbed the folder. He would take this with him, and he'd give it to the CIA or FBI as soon as he got out. He'd expose these ungodly creations to the world! Maybe the President would give him a medal… Filled with a boost of confidence and determination, Kevin got back up and started walking back towards the train.

Water was running down the walls and forming puddles on the floor. The ice was all melting. Kevin noticed the layer of ice surrounding the Hunters in the hallway was noticeably thinner. No threat though, right? The cold would've killed them. As Kevin approached the door to the shaft however, behind them there was a low whine and the sound of ice hitting the floor. Kevin turned around. It was a hunter, it's green skin was still wet from the ice. It looked even scarier in person. Its head went up and it opened it's beady black eyes and looked around. Kevin swore inwardly. How had they survived the cold? The hunter turned it's head and looked at Kevin. The way it's black eyes stared at him sent a cold chill down his spine. They just stared each other down for a moment.

"Uh…Hi?" Kevin uncertainly. He wasn't sure how smart these things were, but they could definitely kill someone. The hunter opened its mouth and made a high-pitched screech that nearly made Kevin cover his ears. With amazing speed, it suddenly charged at Kevin. He brought his machine gun and fired at it. The bullets easily pierced its soft belly and it collapsed, blood coming out of its mouth. Another of its companions appeared at the same pace. Kevin took it down and quickly backed into the shaft.

He spun around only to see another one charging at him. As he fired, it suddenly leapt into the air with amazing power, it's claws outstretched. Kevin barely got out of the way before it landed. Its claws missed him and easily pierced the metal walkway. Kevin quickly emptied the last of his clip into it and started running. He stopped in horror when he saw two charging down the other walkways. They'd make it to the junction before he did. And his gun was empty too.

"Fuck."

Kevin took note of the gap between the walkways. Kevin quickly decided the risk was worse then those claws. He stood on the safety railing and jumped. His hands barely caught the other railing. Desperately hauling himself up, Kevin risked a look behind him. The hunters, initially confused, were now heading his way. Swearing, Kevin stood up and made a blind dash to the door, fully aware of the sound of the monsters' feet chasing after him.

He ran through the door and hit the switch to close it. Desperately, he slammed a fresh clip and kept his gun pointed at the door. Were they smart enough to open doors? A large dent suddenly appeared. No, but they could knock it down. Kevin tried to steady his breathing. After another two bashes, it was quiet for a moment. Then, BANG. The door came crashing in. As soon as it did Kevin pulled the trigger and didn't let go till the gun clicked empty. He slammed the last clip in. The three hunters at the doorway were dead, full of holes. But that still didn't calm him down. The leech had been freakish, but this? He was a cop, not a goddamn action movie hero! No matter how much he wanted the later.

He retreated to the train. As he did, he could see Cindy watching him from the window. He gave a friendly wave. Passing by the control panel again, he saw that the key was already in it. Still surprised at his luck he went ahead and turned it. He flinched suddenly has several alarms went off.

"Attention, the train will be leaving in five minutes. All employees head to the train." A female voice started repeating over the intercom system. Well, at least they were getting out of here. Kevin entered the train to see Yoko putting her shirt back on. She still looked pained, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

"You took so long, we were about to come searching for you." Cindy told him.

"Well, the train's moving now isn't it? You won't believe what I found out." He held up the folder. "Umbrella is intentionally creating monsters here, that's what those frogs were, Hunters."

"Forgive me, but may I see that?" George spoke up.

"Look for you self." Kevin tossed him the folder. "I bet that leech thing we fought was either another monster, or maybe a accident." He watch George and Cindy's reaction as they looked at the folder.

"How horrible." She murmured.

"Yeah, and I bet what happened to the city was one of their 'little experiments.'" Kevin said in disgust.

"How can they even make something like this?" Cindy wondered.

"According to this, by gene splicing." George mused. "Apparently there's some mutagenic involved, the t-virus." George pondered. Thud.

"Not again!" Kevin exclaimed as he went to help Yoko up.

"Yoko…do you know anything about this?" George asked carefully. Yoko shook her head fiercely.

"I told you no!"

"It's okay." Cindy tried to comfort her again.

"We're just asking." Kevin said gently. He handed Yoko her ID card he'd found. "Found this on the floor." He explained. She looked down at in confusion.

"But-but, where's Monica?" She sounded concerned.

"Your friend? I don't know, I just found it on the floor."

"But, why- A scream from Cindy cut her off.

"What? What is it?!" Kevin brought his gun up.

"Look." Cindy pointed out the window. A lone hunter was prowling around the turntable. Blood on it's claws indicated it had killed before.

"It doesn't know we're here, just be quiet and stay away from the windows, and it won't bother us." Kevin ordered. The simple minded killing machine simply stood and gaped around stupidity. The warning announcements voice now informed them the train would rise in two minutes. Outside the front of the car however, a figure came lumbering into view. The hunter went charging blindly at it, but the figure suddenly collapsed. The hunter stopped and stood still again.

"It attacks anything that moves." George observed.

"Is that another zombie?" Cindy wondered. Yoko moved forward to look.

"MONICA!" She screamed. She turned and bolted out of the train.

"Yoko wait!" Kevin tried unsuccessfully to stop her. Cursing, he chased after her. The Hunter took immediate interest has Yoko dashed over to her fallen friend. Kevin appeared and fired several bullets into it before it could strike. Yoko collapsed on her knees next to the body.

"Monica? Monica?" Yoko shook the body. It was only the fact there were tears in her eyes as she tried to wake her friend that made Kevin hold a sharp remark. She showed no traces of being attacked, but her skin was pale. Maybe she had been freezing just a while ago? Kevin noticed a brief case open beside her. Inside it was a broken glass capsule. Kevin didn't want to think what that might mean.

"1 minute." The voice announced.

"Yoko, It's time to go." Kevin said gently. Yoko looked up and him and then hopelessly at Monica. She sniffed and stood up. Kevin led her back to the car. Cindy put a comforting hand on Yoko's shoulder.

"Was that your friend?" She asked. Yoko nodded sadly. Kevin still wondered how someone could call someone who robbed them at gunpoint a friend, but this was clearly not a time to ask questions. The countdown reached zero and hydraulic systems whined loudly as the turntable began ascending, leaving the facility and Monica's body.

The whole two-minute journey was one of a awkward silence. When the train reached the top, they found another obstacle. The train had to be turned around before it could go. Kevin sighed and went to go do it. Look on the bright side, he told himself, the train would undoubtedly lead out of the city, or so they hoped. It got them out of the hellish underground at least. As Kevin circled around the front of the train, a dent suddenly appeared in the steel surface of the turntable. Something suddenly forced it's way through the ground. Kevin stared at the small creature. It resembled a ugly pink lizard, except that it had no eyes. How the hell did it get through solid steel?

The creature let out a low wail that turned into a deep groan. It's back started bubbling rapidly and it's small arms and legs suddenly grew out. "What the hell?!" Kevin backed up. In less then ten seconds, the monster had grown to enormous size, and stood on it's back legs. While it still didn't have eyes, a menacing set of sharp fangs grew in it's mouth. The creature stood at least twenty feet high. It still had tiny arms, but it's legs were strong and meaty enough the support it. Large, grotesque growths were all over it's back. The skin on it's side suddenly tore, revealing a large, sickly red eye. It turned and focused on Kevin.

"I'm not paid enough for this." Kevin complained before he un holstered the Desert Eagle from his leg holster. The creature suddenly spit at him. Kevin dodge the strange liquid just barely. It seared and burned the steel turntable, nearly burning through. The creature closed it's eye and stalked towards him.

"Kevin!" Cindy called. George and her had come off the train to help.

"It's too dangerous, go back!" He waved. They chose to disobey him and brought their guns up and fired at the creature's sightless head. Kevin unloaded two .50 Caliber rounds into it's head, but it had no effect. The flesh was torn and bleeding but it didn't seem to notice. Yoko had come out by the others to help. From the creature's back, several slimy thing erupted and fell onto the ground they looked like miniature versions of the original monster. They came at the group with amazing speed. Cursing, Kevin kept firing the Desert Eagle with his left hand while he pulled out his .45 with his right to fire at the spawns. Kevin grimaced. They were wasting ammo and having no effect, it's brain just wasn't in it's head. Kevin spotted the round shape of the side of the creature that was protected by a thin amount of skin. The eye, of course! It had to be a weak spot!

"Aim for the round thing on it's side!" Kevin yelled to his comrades. He emptied the last two bullets in the Desert Eagle into the orb. Immediately, the creature reared backwards, screeching. Blood poured out from the injured eye and onto the polished steel. It tripped on it's own feet and fell over, exposing it's back. They all fired at the growths. The creature shrieked in pain as they burst, spilling puss and blood everywhere. As sickening as the sight was, the survivors forced them selves to keep firing. Enraged, the monster stood up again, only for its raw, damaged head to bang into the roof for the shed meant to house the train. It collapsed again. Kevin's Desert Eagle clicked empty and so did his .45, so he simply emptied what was left of the machine gun into the creatures eye. The creature, thrashing and screeching, was lying in a pool of it's own blood and puss. It tried to stand up again only to collapse. It let out one last wail before it's head collapsed onto the ground. It did not move as a large puddle of blood formed under it. They all stayed silent, watching for any sign of movement, but the creature was dead.

"What was that thing?" Cindy asked. Her face was pale from disgust and her hands were shaking.

"We'll worry about that later, get on the train, I'll turn the table. He made his way around to the control panel and pressed a button. The table began turning around and Kevin ran back to the train before it automatically went without him. He climbed into the car with the others just as the train set off down the unfamiliar track. Despite what they'd just encountered, they all found the ability to smile, just slightly.

"We made it." Cindy said tiredly.

"It looked pretty bleak for a while." George agreed. Yoko stayed quiet.

"Yeah, well, we gotta fight to survive now." Kevin looked out the train's front window. "We can only hope this takes us somewhere safe." Hope though, was still scarce.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Some events are skewed from the Flashback scenario for the sake of this chapter. Nothing too bad, I hope. The chapter itself originally was more of a gimmick to my deviant art readers.

September 27th, 6:32 P.M

Senses magnified, Mark kept running. He could here them, the VC were right behind them. The weight of his wounded squad mate, though skinny, seemed massive on Mark's shoulders. In front of him the trees flashed, changing between thick oaks to tropical trees. Sweating, Mark shook his head and tried to bring himself back to reality.

He was not in Nam', he was in Raccoon City. He was running from zombie dogs, not the Viet Cong. His mind seemed to be deteriorating and he could do nothing for it. But he had to stay focused, for the sakes of Jim and Alyssa. The city was less then a quarter of a mile away; they were almost there. The ground in front of them dropped steeply into a incline. They all practically fell down the hill, skidding through the mud. Jim groaned weakly while Alyssa was swearing at David for his hazardous help. Mark looked back up to see the dogs standing at the top of hill, watching them. They did not resume chasing them however. They turned and headed back into the forest.

"These pants cost seventy dollars." Alyssa complained while she was trying to brush as much of the mud off as possible. Due to her leg injury, she could not run, which meant David had to carry her. Fortunately, this didn't slow them down. The sun was already on the cities skyline, about to shrink below the outskirts of destroyed buildings.

"We need to find some decent shelter, they're more active during the night." Mark said. They couldn't afford a confrontation. Alyssa had lost her shotgun in the hospital, Jim could barely lift his arms, and Mark's assault rifle only had a clip remaining. David was also low of ammo. Even though Mark still had plenty of handgun bullets, he couldn't hold back a whole hoard of the monsters. After a short walk over a hill, they were back on city streets.

"Do we got a minute?" Alyssa pointed to the side of the street. There was a cheap clothing store. It's display windows were shattered the displays were destroyed. From looters or the undead they had no idea.

"There are more important objectives." Mark told her.

"In case you didn't notice, we're not exactly dressed for the occasion." She retorted. She had a point; they had been wearing the same clothes for three days now. All of them were covered in mud and blood and the clothes stilled smelled from the trudge through the sewers back at J's Bar. "At least let me get some new pants. You have any idea how hard it is to run in tight pants?" Alyssa hobbled dangerously on one foot. Mark frowned. She had a point, mobility was important, but so was staying alive.

"Alright, but we can't stay more then five minutes, and it'll give us a chance to rest." Inside the store, Mark set Jim down against the checkout counter. The man groaned weakly, skirting on the edge of consciousness. It pained Mark to see the younger man suffer, but there was nothing available on hand for poison.

Alyssa hobbled off to the look in the women's section while David grabbed black leather coat from a rack and put it on over his plumber's uniform. Mark decided that something would help fight the cold fall night. He grabbed a large coat and donned it over his security jacket. Even if the opportunity presented itself, he wouldn't change; His uniform probably gave off a better aura of authority.

While Alyssa went off to the changing rooms Mark stood guard at the front of the store, keeping watch for any activity. There was a crash and a outbreak of cursing from the back of the store. Alyssa was probably having trouble fitting her injured foot in the legs.

"Lucy?" A faint voice reached Mark's ears. Confused, the security guard stepped out onto the street. Further down the street, a women was slowly walking around, glancing left and right constantly. A handgun was held in her hands, though she had an anxious look about her. "Lucy! Please, are you there?" She called out desperately. A survivor, someone else was still alive! But something was wrong, very wrong.

"Excuse me, ma'am, is something wrong?" Mark stepped out onto the street. The women's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of him, but quickly recovered. She practically fell at Mark's feet.

"Please sir, you have to have me! My daughter's lost!." She begged. "She's only four years old!" This was serious.

"What happened? When did she disappear?" Mark asked. David came up to join him.

"We've been in a safe house since the riots started, this morning we thought it was safe, so we tried to go through the mountains to the next town." She explained shakily.

"But you were chased back here?" Mark guessed. She nodded.

"I don't know when, but somewhere she vanished from my side." She broke down crying. "She's probably scared to death right now!" Mark looked at David and they both nodded.

"We'll help you search for her." Mark told her.

"What's going on?" Alyssa reappeared. She still was wearing a black sweater, and she'd changed out her pants for a more comfortable pair of cheap sweat pants.

"Little girl's missing, we're going to help find her." Mark explained. Alyssa looked at the woman.

"I thought we had to keep moving?" She asked.

"We can't turn our backs, everyone needs to help each other now." He turned back to the women. "We'll go search the surrounding area. Stay here in the meantime." The women nodded.

"Here." She handed Mark a pendent around her neck. "She knows to trust police and security guards, but if you show her this she'll know I sent you." She explained. Mark nodded.

"We'll start looking for her."

X

"Hello?" Mark called out. "Is anyone there?" He called into the dark store. Nothing. They'd been searching all around the area the women had come from, but they had little luck in finding the girl. "Poor thing must be terrified." Mark commented.

He looked behind the remains of a destroyed taxi. The sun was even lower in the sky. They were wasting valuable time that could be used to find shelter. David went to look in the remains of a laundromat that a bus had crashed into. Mark stared into the sky as a flock of crows took off. He sadly realized that this city was no longer his home, but the home to the undead. He turned and continued looking. "Is anyone there?" Mark called out again. There was a sound from the inside of a general store. "Hello?" Mark cautiously walked inside. For risk of scaring the child, he had slung his M4 over his shoulder, though he kept his hand close to his holstered Beretta. "Anyone here? We're here to help."

"Are you a cop mister?" A small voice asked quietly. Mark turned around to see a little blond head poking out from behind one of the checkout counters. She was looking at Mark with wide eyes in a mix of fear and anxiety.

"Are you Lucy?" Mark knelt down beside the small girl and pulled out the pendent. "You mom sent us to look for you." Her eyes shined when she saw it.

"My mommy? Where is she?"

"She isn't far, come on, I'll take you to her." Mark picked her up and set her on his shoulder. "David? You still there?" Mark called out. David reappeared from the laundromat. "I found her, let's hurry back." As the were walking, Lucy was telling about what had happened.

"Big, ugly monsters started chasing us!" She put her hands in the air. "And we saw this man there too! But he ran away from us." Mark and David exchanged glances. "Froggy!" The four year old suddenly exclaimed, pointing down a side street they were passing. Mark and David turned to see what she was pointing. Down the alley was some hunched over figure. It wasn't a zombie; it's shoulders were wide and it's legs were too skinny. It did remind them of a frog for some reason, but they didn't want to find out more. "Stay quiet and avoid it." Mark ordered. Continuing, they avoided the mysterious creature and soon found themselves back at the clothing store. Mark set the little girl down.

"Lucy!" Her mother came rushing out.

"Mommy!" They hugged. Mark felt a pang of sadness watching the scene. He wondered if he'd get to see his son again? Their recent failure to get out of the city had done serious harm to their morale.

"Thank you so much." The woman said. "I don't know what else I would've done without your help."

"No problem." Mark insisted. "What will you do now?" He inquired.

"The apartment safe house is a short walk from here, we're going back." She explained. Mark frowned, a apartment was narrow and easily to get trapped in.

"That doesn't sound very safe, maybe you should come with us, we could find better shelter." Mark suggested. But the woman shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but it's really late, we'll just head back." Mark frowned again. He really felt that they were putting themselves in a dangerous situation, but their minds couldn't be changed.

"Then we wish you the best of luck and hope you get out." Mark said. She nodded.

"Good luck too, and thank you." She look Lucy's hand and started walking us. The little turned backed and waved at Mark and David.

"Bye! Thanks for helping me!" She yelled. Mark smiled for what seemed like the first time in days.

"Sweet kid, I hope they make it out." He turned and looked at the setting sun and bit his lip. "Sun is setting, we have to move now."

8:53 P.M

"Don't stop, keep moving!" Mark yelled out. He moved his pistol to the side and shot two zombies that were a little too close for comfort. They had been unable to find an adequate shelter in time, and for the past hour they had found themselves running from these creatures of hell. Dodging past the burning remains of a old Cadillac, they charged down another street.

They were in the downtown district of the city, full of shops and tourist attractions. Unless Mark was mistaken, they were nearing the Raccoon City zoo. He fired another three bullets, two of which missed. Shooting with one hand was damaging his accuracy since he had to use the other to hold Jim over his shoulder. David was helping Alyssa along while the reporter was taking passing shots with her handgun.

The moved down another street, and the flower shops and bakeries soon began to disappear. In the distance Mark could see the outline for the Raccoon City Zoo's plant dome. The zombie crowds seemed to be getting denser, and they had very little maneuvering room. Up ahead in the distance, a large semi truck was parked sideways across the street. "Under the truck, now!" Mark ordered. He set Jim down while Alyssa dragged herself under. Mark spun around and began firing at the zombies, though it did little to thin their numbers.

"C'mon!" David called once he had dragged Jim through. Mark loaded a fresh clip and scurried under the trailer. The street here was relatively clear, due in part to the two semi trucks parked conveniently at the end of the road. The zoo's rear gate could be seen further down the street, and the Elephant Restaurant, a popular tourist attraction that took it's namesake from the zoo right across the street. A rotting hand tried to grab Mark's leg as he stood up. He shot it and scrambled up. The hoard was right behind them; they had to make a decision fast.

"Into the restaurant!" Mark ordered as he picked Jim back up. They wouldn't be able to run much longer, they had to make a stand and the restaurant was their best option. Inside, David let Alyssa down on a table while Mark looked around. It was clear. "Secure the windows and doors!" He yelled at David while he set Jim down behind the counter. "Find anything that can be used as a weapon!"

Mark went towards the back of the restaurant. There was a back door, but it was locked. The kitchen door was locked as well. Mark kicked in the door and made a quick round to make sure there weren't any more ways to get in. He nodded in satisfaction; this place would be easy to defend. David worked rapidly, unscrewing the bolts holding the tables to the floor. As he freed each, Mark pushed them up against a window.

"Is this really a good idea?" Alyssa asked from the table she was sitting on.

"Can you think of a better one?" David said sarcastically as he unscrewed another table. Mark shoved it against a window. Outside, some zombies had already got under the semi and were stumbling towards the door. Mark swore and fired at a few of them before turning around and dragging two more tables into position. All the windows were blocked now. Mark dragged a final table in front of the door. The tables were bulky and heavy, and the zombies would have a hard time moving them out of the way, plus they left little gaps they could fire out of. Mark quickly started doing just that.

Behind him, David pulled out the duct tape he'd gotten from the subway. He placed two large chopping knives and the counter and grabbed a boom and a mop. He snapped the head off of each and taped the knives the end, making two homemade-but effective spears. "Here." He handed one to Mark. Without hesitating, David jabbed at a zombie's head that was peeking through a gap. The knife pierced it's decayed head easily and killed it.

"Good thinking!" Mark praised. This would save some ammo. Together, the two men shifted from window to window, jabbing at any zombie trying to force its way through. The tables were remarkable effective, since the zombies didn't think to push on them. Mark wondered how long this would work; they would get tired eventually, but the zombies would never stop. One problem at a time, he decided and jabbed at another one. Things continued for several minutes. Weariness was started to take a toll on the tired and exhausted men.

"What's going on?" Jim croaked weakly from the back.

"Shut up and stay down!" Alyssa barked at him. She looked anxiously back at the two men. "This was a bad idea." She shook her head. Her voice shook.

"Stay strong!" Mark urged. Suddenly, one of the tabled fell back, leaving a wide open window for the zombies. Alyssa swore and started firing. Mark and David grabbed the table and lodged it back in the window. This was bad; they were trapped. They would die here….

And then came a thunderous sound, a mighty sound that made the ground shake. It got louder and louder and the ground shook more violently. "What the hell is happening?!" Alyssa asked. Outside there was suddenly a loud crash and a outbreak of pained moans and sickening crunching. The ground was shaking so much they nearly lost their balance. There was another crash, much closer this time, and then the thundering began to die off, growing more and more nonexistent. A few lone zombies that had been trying to get through the window suddenly stopped and disappeared. They all stood there in bewilderment.

"What the hell was that?" Alyssa made no attempt to hide the fear in her voice. Mark himself was trying to stay calm.

"Follow me." He muttered quietly to David as he brought out his assault rifle. They carefully moved the table blocking the door and stepped outside cautiously.

"What the hell happened here?" Mark asked. The semis at the each end of the street were gone, replaced with tangled metal. The streetlights covering the street had been mostly knocked down, leaving the street scarcely lit. The street was trashed. A large amount of craters and cracks had replaced any smoothness. The most disgusting thing though, was the mess. Dead zombies were laying everywhere, gored and crushed. The street was red with crushed guts and blood. A few zombies were stumbling wearily down the street. Towards what though? Mark looked at the carnage and then down at the street. Something horrible had done this, something very big. "Get inside." Mark ordered. "Before it comes back." They both retreated into the restaurant and re-barricaded the door.

"Well?" Alyssa asked pointedly.

"We don't know, but whatever it is, we must avoid contact at all costs." Mark said firmly. Out in the city, the beast turned it's head back towards it's home. It could smell prey…

September 28th, 8:46 A.M.

Startled, Cindy suddenly jerked upwards, panting. She calmed down when she realized she was safe. She'd just had a terrible dream, one about Will attacking her. She felt another pang of sadness for her lost friend. He's in a better place. She reminded herself. She looked outside the train car. Weak sunlight was outside; it was early morning probably. The train had stopped in a rail yard, all she could see were boxcars and tankers. When had they fallen asleep? She looked over to see her three friends sleeping against the side of the car as well.

"Kevin?" Cindy gently shook the cops shoulder.

"Huh?" He mumbled wearily. He opened his eyes. "Shit!" He jumped up. "We overslept! Wake up! Wake up!" He shook George and Yoko.

"Hey, the train's stopped, it's time to keep moving." Kevin tried to motivate them.

"Are we in the next town?" Yoko asked sleepily.

"Uh, I believe this is the CS railroad yard on the west side of town." George said quietly. There was a brief moment of silence as the realization dawned on them.

"God damnit." Kevin swore quietly. They were even farther from escape; they had come back to the very hellhole they were trying to escape. "Well, this sucks." But faltering would mean death. So he continued. "Guess we just got to find another way." Kevin said. "C'mon, lets go." The all climbed out into the cold morning. As they walked dejectedly towards the yard's exit gate, Kevin turned around to face them.

"Alright, so new plan, we head to the city limits." Kevin declared. "The highways should be deserted. If we can get to one, we can walk right out of the city."

"It will take some time to get through the city." George observed; judging by the smoke stacks rising in the sky, the city was even more horrifically wrecked by now.

"Well, we won't save time by just standing here." Kevin said. "Lets go."

X

2:13 P.M

"I like this hat." Kevin commented staring at the cowboy hat from the shelf. Streets were caved in and collapsed buildings blocked others, so they were having trouble finding a way to the highway. Though they had taken the opportunity to raid abandoned police cars and a S.P.F. van they had found. At least it had aided their ammo situation. But after several hours constant movement, they had finally stopped for a breather.

At the moment, they were all in a clothing store getting changed. Since the opportunity had presented itself, they were changing out of their old, smelly, dirty, and torn clothes into something more comfortable. Kevin was staying in his police uniform for obvious reasons, though he was still interested in some of the stuff they had. "You're a pretty plain person huh George?" Kevin asked. The doctor had decided to simply change into another, exact same suit he'd had before. Though he had grabbed a blue jacket for the cold. Both the girls were in the back trying on their clothes.

"This is hardly the time to be elaborate." George defended, nodding towards the street outside littered with bodies. Strangely (and perhaps sadly) they had grown use to such disturbing images.

"Guess you have a point." Kevin agreed.

…

"What's taking those girls so long?" Kevin wondered out loud. Silence passed for a moment.

"Do you hear something?" George asked.

"Huh?" Kevin looked up. In the distance a whirling sound could be heard, growing gradually louder. "Helicopters?" They both rushed outside and looked up in time to see two Black Hawk helicopters flying over. "Hey! HEY!" Kevin waved his arms widely to gain their attention. They didn't see him.

"Were those military helicopters?" George asked.

"Probably, they must still be evacuating civilians." Kevin guessed. It had to have been what, two, three days since things went to hell and they were still here. That must've meant the situation appeared savable.

"What's going on?" Cindy and Yoko reappeared. Cindy had decided to go with a plain pair of kaki-colored pants and a blue sweater for the cold. Yoko had settled for just replacing her green jacket with a slightly thicker red one.

"Helicopters just flew by, we think they're military." Kevin explained. "C'mon, it flew this way, so let's go." For the next hour or so they were walking in the general direction the helicopters had flown, but the terrain was still difficult to navigate. "Holy shit." Kevin stopped when they turned onto another street. Stores were trashed up and down both sides of the street. Most had caved in, and cars were tossed left and right. The street was severely cracked as well.

"What do you think happened here?" Cindy asked.

"Not sure." Kevin said edgily.

"More monsters?" Yoko suggested.

"I hope not, because it would have had to been very large to do this kind of damage." George pointed out.

"Let's just keep going then." Kevin suggested, slightly uneasy. Though the further the went the worse the damage was. Eventually they stopped altogether just to stare at the destruction.

"Maybe we should go back." Cindy suggested hopefully.

"This area doesn't seem very safe." George agreed.

"Ok fine." Kevin didn't argue. He looked around, apparently unsure. "Does anyone have any idea where we are? I can't recognize anything."

"I think the zoo is nearby." Cindy said. "I really hope nothing happened to the animals." She said after a moment.

"Why don't we just head somewhere familiar and rest to get our bearings?" George suggested.

"Okay then, but we need to hurry, it'll be dark in a few hours." Kevin warned. Even after what had happened in the lab, none of them wanted to risk another night in the city.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: A note before reading this. In Resident Evil: Zero, Rebecca was bitten by a Eliminator, but not infected. This leads fans to believe that if you shrug an attack off soon enough, saliva will not infect the room. Or that getting bitten is not a 100% guaranteed infection. I went on that through writing this chapter.

September 28th 7:13 P.M

"Keep moving, fast." Kevin whispered. They were out of time; they hadn't been able to get on the highway before dark. Most of the ramps had collapsed, effectively keeping them trapped in the city. A new plan had to be made, but there wasn't a opportunity to slow down.

It was night: they were awake. So far they hadn't seen any in the barely lit evening, but they could hear their emitting from alleyways and wrecked buildings. They moved at an ever-faster place.

"What are we going to do?" Cindy whispered urgently.

"Just keep moving for now." Kevin repeated. He was sweating. He wasn't sure what they could do; he had thought they would've got to the highway. He considered fighting to the next nearest highway ramp again; they had plenty of ammo. Kevin grudgingly dismissed the idea; if it was destroyed, they'd waste ammo, and he couldn't trust the others were skilled enough to fight through the city. The S.P.F hadn't even been able to! He decided their best option would be to take shelter.

Cindy screamed as a hand grabbed her from beneath a car. George shot it and it retracted. All around the street, zombies were emerging from their hiding spots. They started full-blown running. "We need to get off the street!" George advised.

"Shut up! I'm thinking." Kevin growled as he downed two zombies with his machine gun. They proceeded up another destroyed street, dodging past a wrecked Cadillac. Cindy realized that this was right by the zoo; she'd gone down this street many times; the back gate was just up ahead. Now it was destroyed. "What the hell happened?" Kevin exclaimed, looking at the wrecked remains of a semi truck and trailer. Rather suddenly, a military helicopter flew right above their heads, it flew over the zoo and seemed to be landing.

"It must be a evacuation point!" Cindy said joyfully. Despite the rotting dead just inches from them, they felt relieved. Their tired legs seemed more energetic as they ran after it. In the darkness ahead, two figures suddenly ran, not limped like the zombies, into the middle of the street, staring up at the helicopter. It looked like they'd come from the elephant restaurant on the side of the street. Due in part to the lack of light, they couldn't see the figure's faces. They must be other people, Cindy realized.

She was about to call to them but Kevin motioned for her to be quiet. There were a few undead behind them, but it would take them a moment to catch up. With his machine gun up, Kevin cautiously approached the figures. The larger figure of the two spun around and pointed to Kevin. Both men spun around, with guns up.

"Police! Put your weapons down!" Kevin yelled. The figures didn't comply. "I'll shoot!" Kevin warned. Cindy felt a feeling of panic. He would shoot other humans, would he? But then she noticed something: there was something hauntingly familiar about the shape of one of the men.

"Kevin, wait." Cindy whispered and pushed the barrel of his gun down.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked angrily. Cindy didn't respond. She walked forward.

"Mark?" She called uncertainly. She knew the idea was absurd, seeing as the burly security guard had disappeared two whole days ago. But the figure looked just like the heavy man who had served as a main fighter at the police station. The figures lowered their weapons.

"Cindy?" The voice drifted out from the darkness. It was Mark! The two figures came running over.

"No way, no fucking way." Kevin muttered in a mix of disbelief and surprise. But sure enough, as the figures came under the little section of light, it was Mark and David. The two men looked battered and bruised, their clothes worn and torn.

"I'll be damned." Mark said looking at them. "We thought you were K.I.A." He told them.

"We thought you were dead too." Kevin rubbed the back of his head. David was staring at him, evidently annoyed by the cops trigger-happy nature.

"We havn't seen anymore living people in the city." George addressed them. "How are you still alive?"

"We've seen a few people still along, and it's a long and crazy story." Mark shook his head and looked towards the edge of the city.

"You think YOU went through some crazy shit? We fought monsters, we found out who's behind this whole thing too." Kevin said smugly.

"Umbrella." Mark stated factually. "The have experimental medicine." Kevin faltered; he'd apparently thought he held a closely guarded secret.

"How do you know that?" George asked.

"It's a long story, too long, and it ain't safe out here. C'mon." He motioned towards the Elephant restaurant. They followed him up the steps. The windows were blocked and the front showed noticeable damage.

"We've been hold up here since last night." Mark explained. He pushed open the front door. Cindy had been here plenty of times, but the warm, family friendly setting was gone, replaced with the stench of death and the fact this place was now a fortified bunker. They weren't the only ones here, Alyssa was laying on a table near the back. She looked at the new arrivals with surprise. The first thing Cindy noticed was her new clothes, then her injured leg sprawled awkwardly in front of her. Cindy gasped at how horrible it looked.

"Jeez, what happened to your leg?" Kevin asked bluntly. Alyssa scowled.

"Nice to see you're alive too, asshole." She retorted. Kevin returned the scowl while George moved forward to the injured women. Cindy approached too, but Mark put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. He pointed to the other side of the restaurant. Leaning against the table, apparently asleep, was Jim. She was shocked at how pale he seemed.

"Poison." Mark explained. "We tried giving him herbs but they don't seem to be any good." He motioned to the side of the dining area where potted herbs were decorating the wall.

"What have you given him?" Cindy asked. George could help Alyssa; she had the knowledge to help Jim herself.

"Blue since we got out of the mountains, and some green ones too."

"The mountains? You were actually crazy enough to go into the mountains?" Kevin mocked while Cindy went over to the wall and grabbed a green and red herb.

"Hey asshole, we wouldn't escaped if Lester hadn't stopped us." Alyssa defended Mark.

"Lester?" George said in surprise as he was sewing up Alyssa's leg. "Al Lester?" He questioned.

"Bingo, that freak is the one who did this to my leg while he was trying to feed me to his wife."

"He wanted to what?" Kevin asked. Cindy finished mixing the herbs and tried to get Jim to eat them.

"Well, best start from the beginning then…" Mark began.

X

For the next half hour, each group had shared what happened to them after the van crashed. Apparently, Mark had led the others into the mountains to safety, but a old, crazy man had tried to trap them in a old hospital. George had taken a particular interest in this part, saying that he remembered how it had also caused trouble at the central hospital. Alyssa had told the sad tale of her friend and what Umbrella had been doing to the patients there. They had listened in shocked silence. How could they have done that to all those poor people, that poor old man had cared about his wife so much…

When it had been time for Cindy and her group to share, they made their adventure sound much more interesting, mostly because Kevin told it.

"It's really all thanks to Kevin, he led us through it all." Yoko said quietly while Kevin detailed his own self-adventure against the hunters. After that, they discussed Monica. Cindy had wondered how they would react to the small girls story.

Alyssa had looked at her in a odd expression, almost somewhere between pity, hatred, and interest. Mark had shown some compassion, giving her a reassuring nod when she told them of what she knew of her history. David had remained emotionless, as always, though Cindy did see him pay attention to the whole thing.

"Let me see that." Alyssa snatched the folder containing the hunter records from Kevin, who protested. Her eye went up in surprise. "Jackpot." She muttered. "This'll make a great article." She mused. Kevin snatched it back. David picked up a picture that had fallen from the folder. He observed it silently then handed it over to Mark. The security guard frowned at it.

"We saw one of these on the streets earlier." Mark began to explain his encounter with a women and her lost child.

"And you just let them go off?" Kevin demanded. Mark ignored him.

"I think Umbrella may have deployed these into the city." Mark suggested.

"But, why would they do that?" Yoko asked.

"Probably to kill the zombies, erase evidence." Mark guessed as he handed the photo back to Kevin.

"Man, this shit is straight out of a cheap movie." Jim complained from the floor. He had gotten better in the past half an hour, though he was still weak.

"But it's reality, and we have to face it." Mark said bluntly. His voice became less harsh. "But it's good we're all back together, it's a sign. We still have to work together to get out."

"But we all failed to get out already!" Jim protested.

"We can't give up hope, we came so close! We just chose the wrong route." Cindy said. Mark nodded.

"All we got to do, is find where those helicopters landed." Kevin introduced his idea. Behind them, David was messing with a old square portable TV he had found in the back kitchen for when the employees were bored. He was trying to find a signal, though Cindy highly doubted he would.

"Easier said then done." Alyssa muttered. David turned the channel, and it actually got a signal! They all crowded around the small machine. It was a news broadcast. David adjusted the antenna, trying to get the picture clearer. They ended up catching the broadcast right as it began.

"-er, reporter." The lady standing in front of the camera said. She was standing at a truck stop on the outskirt of the city, which could be seen far in the background. "Bringing you updates on the tragedy in Raccoon City." They all listened, transfixed. So things were only bad in the city… "We are entering the forth day of the disaster, and hope is getting weaker and weaker." The camera stopped, showing scenes of the undead early in the outbreak; police shootouts, scared civilians fleeing, and even a news shot of Main Street being blown up. Cindy watched the last part in surprise. Had she really done that? "The army is maintaining a barricade, refusing to let people into the city, though it is continuing police evacuation efforts." She reported.

"We can escape!" Yoko said joyfully. Those helicopters must've been the Army.

"The army is preparing a offensive into the city in an attempt to control the situation." The camera showed shots of soldiers clad in biohazard suits prepping vehicles and loading supplies into trucks. "This news is odd, considering how military forces already entered the city on the 26th." The camera showed shots of what might have been Russian helicopters flying into the city. "Despite this clear evidence, the pentagon is insisting it did not authorize a offensive at that time."

It showed more shots, these ones much more graphic. "It is reported that 90% of the city is already dead." Those words hit all of the survivors like a bucket of icy water. They all exchanged shock glances. "Despite this," the women kept going, "people have escaped to the city. We have a police officer here," the camera turned to face a blond women in a police uniform, "Ma'am, can you please tell us about the situation inside the city?"

"No way!" Kevin exclaimed. Others shared his reaction.

"I thought you said she was dead?" Alyssa asked.

"It's horrible." Rita said. "A lot of good people have died trying to save others." They couldn't believe it, it was actually Rita! She still had a bandage on her shoulder from the zombie attack. How was she not a zombie?

"How does it feel, knowing you're the only surviving police officer?" The reporter questioned.

"I'm not." Rita said firmly. "There still other police officers in the city fighting." She said fiercely.

The reporter seemed unconvinced. Apparently no longer thinking Rita reliable as a witness, she turned back to the camera. Rita could be heard outside the frame, objecting as she was apparently ushered away. Was the situation really so bad they didn't think anyone could survive?

"We would like to give our sincerest regards to the families of the victims of this tragic disaster." The cameraman turned to the right, showing a massive encampment of tents and supplies. Hundreds of people were they're crying or staring out sadly into the city. "The plan is note without controversy, however. Since the pentagon announced the radioactive waste leak into the city, it is still suspicious they are conducting rescue missions." The women went on as the camera turned towards a helicopter preparing to take off.

"What?!" Alyssa spat acidly.

"They're covering it up!" Kevin realized in shock.

"We will bring you updates as the offensive begins. This is Sally Parker, signing out." The screen went blank turned to commercials. David leaned forward and turned the TV off. They all sat there in shocked silence, letting what they'd heard sink in. They hadn't imagined it would be this bad. Kevin swore and stood up and began to pace. He must've been relieved Rita was alive, even if he didn't know how, but all the other news…

Yoko buried her head in her backpack. Alyssa was apparently disgusted at the way they'd reported the news. Jim slouched down and buried his face in his hands. George also got up and walked over to the blocked windows. Cindy couldn't believe it. All those poor people, children, people with futures and families, all gone. She felt a horrible amount of guilt; her life was miniscule compared to some of those people, but she still was alive. She knew she shouldn't beat herself up over it, but it was a hard truth to accept. Yoko suddenly started sobbing into her backpack. Kevin was beside her in a instant.

"Hey, hey." He rubbed her back gently. "Don't blame yourself, you had nothing to do with this." He said firmly She still kept crying.

"Yes I did! I helped make whatever is hurting those people!" She sobbed into her backpack again.

"Listen to me." Kevin tipped her chin up for she was looking at him. "This isn't your fault, it's Umbrella's. They did this, not you." Kevin tried to reassure her. She looked up at everyone, who in turn nodded reassuringly at her. She sniffed.

"Didn't you say you had no recollection of working for them?" George asked. Yoko nodded. "Then how can you be sure you helped?" The new logic seemed to calm her down.

"Thank you guy. I'm sorry, it's just-" She hiccupped. Embarrassed, she stood up. "I'll go get cleaned up." She walked at a hurried pace towards the women's bathroom.

"I'll go make sure she's ok." Alyssa got up and hobbled after her. Despite George's superior stitching, her leg would still need more time to heal. Everyone turned back to their own thoughts. The only one who did not seem to be with them was Mark. The former soldier was still seated in his chair, staring at the blank TV scream. Aside from reassuring Yoko, he hadn't moved the whole time. It was unusual, considering the big man's usually charisma.

"Mark, is something wrong?" Cindy asked. The big man was probably having troubled thoughts. It seemed to take Cindy's words a moment to reach him.

"I saw them." He said quietly. "My family, my wife and son, I saw them there in the crowd." He was thinking about his family! Cindy had yet to settle down, so she couldn't completely understand.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." She said.

"They were crying, crying for me. They think I'm gone." His expression hardened. "They're afraid they'll never see me again. I won't leave them, I'll go through hell and back to get back to them." He declared, standing up. The others had been watching his speech with interest, though George showed the most interest, and perhaps understanding. Alyssa and Yoko returned from the restroom. Her eyes were still red, though Yoko did look happier now.

"Ok, so we're all back together, one happy dysfunction family." Kevin said with a humorous note to his voice.

"We should stay focused." Mark declared. "What's out there isn't a immediate concern." He stopped for a moment then regained his voice. "Our survival here and now is." Kevin nodded even Mark seemed to doze off again.

"Now it's time to get back to business." Kevin clapped his hands together. "We know there's a evacuation point around here."

"On the other side of the zoo." Cindy remembered.

"Right, so all we gotta do is go through the zoo!" Kevin said.

"What type of fucking plan is that?" Jim hauled himself up. "If this virus did that stuff to plants and leeches, what do you think it would do to zoo animals? What do they have in that damn zoo anyway?" He was panting. He was still pushing himself too hard.

"Well…" Cindy began. She always made it a thing to go to the zoo on Sundays to see the animals. She'd done it with her parents since she was a little girl, she'd even watched the parade staring Oscar the elephant. Oscar! "There's a elephant.," she whispered quietly. What would've happened to Oscar? She couldn't imagine the horrible idea he had transformed.

"The elephant, my son use to love the elephant shows." Mark said absentmindedly.

"Something big has been blundering up and down the street all day, guess we know what it is now." Alyssa looked towards the front of the store. Outside the sound of a helicopter passing over rose in volume before fading.

"They're coming every hour." George realized. Mark stood up, seeming out of his daze for good.

"That gives us a hour to get through the zoo." He said "We need to find some supplies and hurry."

"Now hold on." Kevin said stubbornly, apparently unwilling to share group leadership again. "Who put you in charge?"

"Don't start this shit again!" Alyssa whined. David ignored the whole thing and went to look for supplies. Cindy figured they would need supplies regardless and went over to where the herbs were planted. The least she could do was mix some and wrap them up in case. She suddenly remembered something.

"Max." Cindy suddenly realized.

"Aw man, what?" Jim complained.

"Max is the zoos lion." Cindy explained. "He's probably infected too. And I think they recently brought in three female lions for mating." She remembered the announcement she had seen there three weeks ago.

"That's good Intel, anything else?" Mark asked.

"Well, there's hyenas, gorillas, giraffes, rhinos, monkeys, and they have a bees and exotic plants in the dome, though they said they would close it down…"

"I wrote a article a few years back about that; the guy in charge had acquired some illegal orchids." Alyssa recalled. Illegal sounded dangerously like 'dangerous' now.

"Those are a lot of dangerous animals normally, what would they be like now?" Yoko asked, a note of year to her voice.

"Don't worry, ain't nothing bullets can't handle." Kevin motioned to a empty table. "Hey! Where the hell is my gun?!" He asked angrily, staring around. David was holding it by the counter. "What's your problem?" Kevin demanded.

Scowling, David tossed the gun back at Kevin and it clattered onto the floor. The plumber had taken a moment to duck tape a flashlight he had found to it. He handed back Mark his assault rifle, also now equipped with a flashlight. The security guard thanked him. David handed another flashlight to George and kept one for himself. Kevin muttered something that sounded like 'thanks' under his breath. Cindy looked at the herbs she had wrapped: two mixes of green herbs, one of green and red, and three of an all herb combination. She handed them quietly to Yoko who stashed them in her backpack.

"It's time to move up, if we take too long we'll miss the next helicopter and have to wait in the open." Without hesitating, Mark got up and went over to the door. "I have more expertise in surviving in the wild around animals, I'm leading this time." He said firmly. He moved the table and motioned for David to join them.

Before the two men kicked the door open, however, the gradual thundering came back. "Take cover!" Mark called. Cindy found herself dragged under a table. The ground shook so violently that some of the overhead slights broke and swung dangerously from the ceiling. Without warning, something large crashed through the roof, coating them with dust and debris. They all shrunk even closer to the ground, expecting something large to crush them. But it didn't come; instead the thundering gradually disappeared. They all peaked out. The Cadillac from earlier was lodged in the roof.

"That was all the way down the street!" Jim said in disbelief.

"It had to fly pretty far." Alyssa agreed. Cindy stared at the car in shock. Had Oscar really been that strong? Mark took a deep breath.

"We don't have much time till he comes back, we have to move fast and now!" Mark said. And re-advanced at the door and kicked it open before going into the street. David followed close behind, a makeshift and bloody spear in hand. Kevin stared after them in annoyance.

"All jealousy aside, you must admit he has a point." George said before he went over to help Alyssa up. Kevin shrugged in defeat before going out to the street. Yoko looked scared and Cindy gave her a reassuring nod and extended her hand.

"It's ok, we'll be fine." She said. The two girls walked outside and back into the dark night. Mark and Kevin were both shining their new lights down the street. Any zombies that had been there earlier were gone. Mark motioned for them to advance down the street to the zoo's back gate. They all followed, keeping quiet. They didn't want to make any noise and attract attention. Their ears were sharp for the sound of thunder, but all there was were their hurried footsteps and the wind blowing. They all reached the gate. It looked a lot different to Cindy in the dark.

"Shit." Kevin muttered when he saw a padlock. "What now?" He asked Mark acidly.

"Look on the back." The security guard replied calmly, not taking his eyes from the street.

"What?" Kevin said in a annoyed tone. David let his spear down and turned the padlock over and shined his flashlight on it. Barely visible were several numbers scratched into it.

"Seriously?" Alyssa muttered.

"Not many people, even in the company, are very smart." Mark replied. David unlocked the padlock and gently put it and the chain down. With a bit of effort, he pushed the gate open. Normally a family friendly place, the inside of the zoo looked much more foreboding now. They all stared into it with uncertainty.

"Well, here we go." Kevin said edgily. They all entered the gate.


	23. Wild Things I

A/N: Took me a while to fix this one- I read back through it and realized I had a few blaring errors, so I've been fixing all three chapters that cover the Wild Things scenario. The fact that the play through is different on different difficulties threw me off initially.

X

Despite the late hour and the fact of the outbreak, several of the zoos lights were still on. The large concourse where people usually walked were deserted and severely cracked. The path split into two direction, both were deserted. "What's the fasted way to the other side of the zoo?" Mark asked.

"That way." Cindy replied, pointing to their right.

"Right, come on." They all proceeded down the way. Up ahead, the gates that separated different areas of the zoo were gone, destroyed and trampled. As they reached the end where the path split into different sections of the zoo, the unmistakable trumpet of a elephant reached their eyes and sent chills down their spines. Jim made some sort of girlish scream and gripped his cap to his head. "Don't slow down!" Mark warned. Too late.

With a thunderous crash, Oscar smashed his way through the gate they had entered through, sending massive slabs of concrete through the air. Even though he was nearly 100 meters from the group, he looked massive, as if the infection had increased his size. His skin was peeled and decayed, showing disgusting patches of raw flesh. Cindy stared in horror. That couldn't possibly be Oscar! The bull elephant turned towards them and let out another trumpeted war cry.

"RUN!" Mark bellowed. They ran through the nearest gate into the next area. To their right was the Zoo's office; all the lights were out. Oscar made no trouble catching up with the group. The ground shook violently as he got closer. The group had barely round the building before Oscar let out another cry, this one much louder. The thundering was deafening, and it seemed as if there was a earthquake. It was too much. Half the group, Cindy included, tripped and fell. Cindy hit the pavement and her gun went skidding from her pocket across the ground. She looked behind her. Oscar appeared around the corner, even more horrifying up close. He eagerly stomped towards them.

"Cindy!" Kevin jumped in front of her and took aim at the charging elephant. The small 9mm bullets didn't even phase the beast. Still charging, it stopped just short of them and swung it's trunk. It crashed into Kevin with a sickening crunching sound. The cop was hurled up and over the over survivor's heads. His limp body hit the pavement with a dull, meaty thud and his gun broke upon impact with the ground.

"Kevin!" Yoko shrieked. The elephant looming right over her, Cindy tried desperately to get back up. She screamed and grabbed at the ground as Oscar wrapped his trunk around her midsection and hoisted her up. The elephant was still un-phased as the group opened fire. Their weapons just won't strong enough. Cindy screamed even louder as Oscar opened his mouth…

Rather suddenly, a spear soared through the air and impaled the elephant's eye. It let out a cry of pain as blood gushed from the wound. It reared back and let go of Cindy. She screamed again as she fell, only to be cut short as she landed on the pavement and the world went black…

X

"Get the wounded and fall back NOW!" Mark bellowed as loud as his old lungs would allow. David's wild throw had paid off: the elephant were temporarily stunned. The two men quickly grabbed Cindy and dragged the poor girl back. Seeing as Jim had fled again, Yoko was left alone to drag Kevin by herself.

"Help her you idiot!" Alyssa spat at George and shrugged him off. She began hobbling quickly back. The doctor gave Yoko a well-needed hand. Mark stared at the creature in fear and anger. Anger for hurting his comrades, and fear because it hadn't even flinched at their weapons.

A set of stairs into the officer appeared in his sight. Alyssa was already dragging herself up them and George and Yoko were not far behind. Titan was still shaking his head viciously to un-lodge the weapon, splashing blood everywhere. They carried Cindy up the steps and into the building. Alyssa was waving at them was a inner office door. "Hurry up!" She called. They went in and she slammed the door.

He couldn't see Jim everywhere, but the others were here. A bewildered zoo employee was standing on the other side of the room with a shotgun, staring at the group. They had set Kevin on a table. The cop's eyes were closed and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Mark would be amazed if he had survived. What had he been thinking anyway, trying to fight that thing head on? They carefully set Cindy down as well. At the moment, George's full attention was on Kevin, but Mark knew at least basic field medicine.

"She's still breathing." Mark reported. "Though her arm is swelling." George gave a nod to show he had heard even though he didn't take his eyes off Kevin. Yoko stood by him anxiously. She looked ready to break down again, but stayed calm.

"Will he be okay?" She asked.

"He isn't dead, but internal bleeding will be a big problem." George grabbed the bottle of hemostats they had retrieved from the hospital earlier. He put them in Kevin's mouth and massaged his throat so they would go down. "It's all I can do at the moment." He admitted reluctantly, and walked over to where Cindy was.

"She has a pretty bad bruise on the side of the head." Mark told him. George nodded. After a moment of observation, he stood up.

"I'm pretty sure her left arm is broken, but other then that it's just the concussion we have to worry about. She should live." He said carefully.

"But what about Kevin?" Yoko demanded harshly. Her tone drew surprised expressions from the group.

"I can't say if he'll survive." George said gently. "He needs surgery, but this is best we can do for now. We just have to hope the bleeding stops." Mark frowned. While reckless, Kevin was no doubt an important part of the group.

Outside, Titan let out another cry, this time very angry. There was a crash and the building shook violently. The elephant howled with rage and repeatedly rammed the building. Windows shattered and panels began falling from the roof. The lights flickered. They all ducked for cover. For the next several minutes the elephant continued ramming into the building. They cowered in fear that it may collapse on them. But eventually the shaking stopped as Titan became uninterested again. He thundered off, leaving a shocked silence.

"Jesus Christ, what did you guys do to piss Oscar off?" The zoo employee stuck his head up. Mark realized they hadn't explained their appearance.

"I'm Mark Wilkins, the leader of this squad." He extended his hand. The man shook it with a skeptical look.

"I'm Lloyd Stewart. Listen, are you people stupid?" He asked bluntly. "Coming here? Especially with Oscar roaming around? Geez."

"We're trying to get to the other side of the zoo where there's a evac helicopter, how do we get the front of the zoo?" Mark asked. Lloyd laughed.

"Good luck buddy, a couple of our guys already tried, Oscar ate them all."

"How do we get there?" Mark demanded again. Lloyd realized how serious Mark was.

"Listen, buddy, I really hate to tell you this, but even a squad of armed soldiers couldn't get out of here. Austin and his hunting rifle are probably the closest thing to competent firepower and god knows where he is." Mark wasn't deterred. Lloyd admitted defeat and answered.

"But if you want to know, it's complicated." He motioned to a door in the back on the room and led Mark in. It was a lavish office with a desk. A statue with digital numbers sat at the front. "Zoo director is a puzzle fan or something. You need five medals: two to get the main power back on; this is just a secondary generator." He motioned to the lights above. "And three to get one of the plates needed to open up the front gate."

"Five medals." Mark nodded, mentally recording the information.

"And once you get the plate here, you need to get the other plate from the warehouse. You take both plates to the front area, and put them in the lion statues there. That will open the front gate." Mark stared at him.

"I ain't kidding." Lloyd put his hands up. Mark shook his head. The city apparently had a thing for elaborate and unnecessary security systems, even when there were security firms who could do a better job. Mark sighed. One step at a time, he told himself.

"Ok, so we'll focus on power first, where are the other medals?" Lloyd walked around the desk and pulled a medal out of one of the drawers and tossed it to Mark. It had a Raccoon mascot etched on its surface. Mark slid the coin into the slot on the statue. The number changed from two to one.

"The rest are scattered around the zoo. There's one in the elephant stage, the green house, one at the swamp, and one in the watchtower. Four in total." Mark frowned at the words; that meant they'd have to go back out into the zoo. Best they make only one trip and get all the medals.

"Alright, thank you." He walked back into the other room. Before he started talking though, he noticed a locker in the corner of the room shaking. "What's that?" Mark felt for his sidearm.

"Don't worry, it's nothing." Alyssa said in disgust and opened the locker. Jim was inside, shaking uncontrollably. He grabbed the locker and slammed it back shut. "Don't be such a coward." Alyssa scolded. Jim pushed the locker back open.

"Excuse me? Where do you get off telling me what to do?! I've dealt with enough of this shit! I've trudged through the sewers, I've dealt with freakish mutants with tongues, I dealt with giant bugs, I dealt with crazy fucker with a ax, I've been poisoned, and I had to shoot my own friend! So don't you fucking tell me what to do! I'm done with this shit!" He slammed the locker again. Scowling, Alyssa muttered something under her breath Mark couldn't hear.

"The fuck did you call me bitch?!" Jim jumped out and got in her face.

"You heard me." She spat at him. They broke out into a argument that consisted mainly of very vulgar insults. Mark watched with mounting concern. Things were falling apart; they wouldn't survive like this. Yoko shrunk down and covered her ears from the argument. Lloyd was watching the sight with bemused curiosity.

"Quiet!" Mark yelled, immediately silencing them. "We need to stick together, or else we won't get out of here. Now here's what we need to do-

"Oh no!" Jim cut him off. "Fuck that! Some kind of leader you are! All we've run into was trouble! So fuck you! I ain't leaving this office!" He said adamantly. Mark looked at Alyssa. Unfortunately, her mind was still addled by fear and aggression.

"No." She said immediately. "I heard you back at the restaurant, all you care about is seeing your family again, you wouldn't care if we died. Is that what you did during the war? Sacrifice your men?" Mark felt his temper rise.

"How dare you say that! I care about everyone here!"

"Guys…" Yoko said, but they ignored her. George pulled her back.

"It's best not to get involved." George said gently.

"My minds made up, I'm staying here." Alyssa turned her head clearly unwilling to say more. Mark turned to Yoko and George. Yoko shook her head sadly and looked at Kevin. Mark wondered if she blamed him for it.

"Someone must look after the wounded." George nodded to Cindy and Kevin. Mark could understand that, George was a doctor first and always. But at the same time he had hoped for some support. On the other side of the room, David nodded at him. At least one person was still on his side. But it was next to nothing. The teams morale had been broken by fear.

"So that's it?" He asked them. "You're all just going to sit here and wait?" No one answered. "Things are hard, but we can't give up in the face of danger, we have to fight to get out of here." Mark tried to reason, but it gained no response. The security guard shrugged his shoulders in defeat. It was over; that damn elephant had zapped whatever morale they had left. "Very well then, I guess your minds are made up." Mark made his way over to the door. "But I would like to say, that it has been a true honor fighting with all of you. I can't think of any other people to stand with during these difficult times. I wish you all good luck and may the lord watch over you." Mark turned the knob and walked into the outer area of the building with David.

"David, Mark, wait!" Yoko called. They turned around. The small girl came up to them carrying two of the herb mixtures Cindy had made back at the restaurant. "Take these, just in case, and promise you'll be ok?" For whatever inner turmoil, she was still clearly worried for everyone's safety.

"Thanks." David took one and nodded at her.

"We'll be fine, we promise. We'll be back in a hour or so with those medals, just wait for us." Mark looked through a hole in the roof into the night sky. "We promise." He repeated. Yoko nodded.

"Good luck guys." She said unsurely and walked back inside. Mark took a deep breath to prepare him for the long, painful task ahead. If they could get those medals, maybe, just maybe the group would come back together. He checked to make sure he had a full 15 round clip in his handgun before sliding it back in and pulling back the slide. David checked to make sure his revolver had rounds in it.

"Well, let's go then!" Without hesitating, the two men rushed outside into the unknown.

X

In a observation tower on the other side of the zoo, a man stood on the observation deck, a powerful hunting rifle in hand. He wondered what all that noise had been, the gunfire, the yelling, and the crashing. Dust still wafted up from the remains of the office building. Whatever had happened, Oscar was mad.

The man wondered if maybe the military had come to rescue them at last, he HAD seen helicopters flying overhead. What could soldiers do against Oscar though? Hell, the hunting rifle barely did any damage, though now Oscar did make a point to stay away from the tower. Still, something was going on…

The rustle of the plants below startled him. He leaned over the railing and aimed downwards where a lion was stalking down the path. His finger tightened on the trigger. The moment the lion looked up, he fired. The high powered bullet blew the lion's weakened flesh into scattered chunks and it collapsed.

Another lion roared nearby. His victory cut short, the man retreated back into the tower. Whoever wandered into the zoo, they weren't going to get out- those damn lions would tear them to shreds.

X

"I really appreciate you coming along, it's nice to know I got backup." Mark told David.

"I ain't got anything to lose." The man said simply.

"I really don't think it's fair they blame me, I've tried to keep everyone anyway from danger." Mark went on.

"People like to have someone to blame is things go bad." David replied. As he said this several things went through his mind, the sound of police sirens, the image of a body lying on the floor of a connivance store, and the sound of a gunshot. The scar on the left side of his chest started hurting again.

"Yeah, I know, but still. I tried for so long to forget Nam', but I remember it now more then ever." They both walked over to a trampled gate. The elephant stage could be seen in the distance. There should be something of interest there- maybe something that could help against the elephant?

As they passed the large metal gate that normally kept Titan enclosed was open for some reason. A body was impaled on top of one of the gates. His body appeared to be clutching something to his chest. Ignoring this for the time being, they walked onto the stage. A large gate blocked off the way into Titans actual habitat, but there was ladder leading up to a management station.

"Hello?" Mark called upwards. They both cautiously climbed upwards and stood up. On one side of the room was a panel for the lights and music, tables full of discarded coffee and soda cans took up the other side.

"Who are you?" They spun around. Slouched against the wall, another zoo employee was holding his arm over a large gash in his stomach.

"Damn." Mark muttered, there was no way herbs could cure that gash. Maybe he should go back and get George.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Trying to escape. Don't worry, there's a doctor back in the office, we can go get him." Mark motioned back.

"The office, is Lloyd still alive?" He asked eagerly. Mark nodded.

"Heh, I figured he would, he told Marcus and the others they were idiots when they tried to leave." He coughed again. "Tell me, what's happening in the rest of the city?"

"The army is preparing to launch a offensive, with any luck they can secure the zoo."

"They'll need luck, Austin said he tried to get Oscar. He always bragged about that hunting rifle, ain't any use to it!" He laughed.

"Listen, just stay put, we'll go get that doctor." Mark told him.

"Nah man, I've lost too much blood. But still, thanks for talking to me. It was nice to see someone before I died." He let out a groan and slumped over. Mark checked his pulse, nothing. Sighing, the security guard shut the man's eyes. Another soul too late to help… Out in the distance, the sound of thunder returned, growing louder and louder. The two men stared at each other in fear. Titan was back.


	24. Wild Things II

A/N: Again, some facts may be skewed from actual game play. But in truth, no Novelization can escape that.

X

"Shit." Mark swore as the noise grew louder. They both looked through the window down into the stage. Titan appeared running. He stormed onto the stage and stopped. The elephant looked around, he didn't know where they were! "Where is that damn medal?" Mark started scrambling around the contents of the desks. "It ain't here!" He yelled in frustration. David had been observing the circling elephant.

"If the power was on, we could trap it." David realized, pointing to the control panel and then the gate. It was enough to make Mark pause.

"Might be worth trying later." Mark acknowledged. Looking out of the large window, he noticed the body hanging on the gate with a new thought. "He must have the medal." Mark realized. "We have to get the power on if we want to dislodge it though." He realized as much reluctantly.

"Then we find the other medals." David states. Mark nodded. "The greenhouse." He recalled their instructions.

The two men exited through a side door back outside. As they descended the stairs to the plant dome, something came swooping down at them in a blur of color. They ducked as the infected tropical bird smashed clear into the wall and slid down. Two more appeared.

"Into the dome!" Mark yelled. They quickly dodged the pair of infected birds and slammed the door behind them. After making sure it was firmly closed, they turned around.

"Damnit." David muttered.

"I'm too old for this shit." Mark said in annoyance. The plants had mutated, badly. They had grown to enormous height and stretched throughout the building, some even trying to break through the roof. Carefully, very carefully, the two men proceeded carefully past the exhibits, taking special care to step over extended vines.

Mark, in his tired and stressed mind, truthfully wasn't sure if it were the plants or the snipers watching him. They circled through to a opening where a electric panel showing the different species of plants for locals examining the exhibit. Sitting neatly on top of the display was a silver medal identical to the one Lloyd had shown Mark back in the office. David picked it up and observed it.

They both stiffened as a buzzing reached their ears: bees, or any other number of unsavory creatures. Silently, they both retreated to the door leading outside to the next area. They both stopped however when they saw a new obstacle.

"Damn Charlie blew the bridge." Mark remarked. A large, artificial swamp was in front of them. Far across it, they could just make out a lantern illuminating another gate. A wooden bridge, which usually provided dry passage, was collapsed in most places.

They could either wade through the swamp, or go back inside. But the swamp was probably the safer option. An unlit sign next to where the bridge would've start read 'crocodile and alligator exhibit'. The medal was here, likely across the lake, guarded by crocodiles, alligators, and any number of creatures.

'Fortune favors the bold' someone had once said. They obviously had never seen giant reptiles with teeth. Cautiously, the two men went forward into the water.

X

Back in the office, a rather tense and pregnant silence existed. Jim had not come out since his spitting match with Alyssa, though this may have been due to a red handprint across the side of his face. Yoko had since fell asleep on the floor, using her backpack as a pillow. Alyssa was also struggling to stay awake. George was the only one alert. Every five minutes or so he would check to see that the casualties were still breathing. So far neither had stirred.

Lloyd meanwhile simply stood around, seemingly content. No one spoke, no one looked at each other. In all honesty, they had realized now how stupid they'd been to turn on each other, though no one was willing to admit wrong. Rather, they were all now anxiously waiting for the door to open and for Mark and David to return in one piece.

Jim had been fidgeting and looking at the door for the past ten minutes, and Alyssa had been thinking of a decent apology to give Mark if he got back. When, she corrected herself. She probably had been a little rough on the old man; after all, he'd stuck his neck out for them before.

"So how have you people survived exactly?" Lloyd asked. "I haven't seen any other people since the 25th." He gave the grateful survivors something else to think about.

"We've been underground." Alyssa replied. "We haven't dealt with any of the serious shit, before now that is."

"I've been here the whole time, someone is bound to come along eventually." Lloyd said optimistically.

"Give it up man, no one is getting out of this city." Jim shook his head.

"Your outlook isn't very positive." George commented.

"Yeah, quit being a pussy." Alyssa added, apparently unafraid of starting another brawl.

"Man, you guys are stupid, don't you get it? We know to much!" He waved at the binder on the table. "Umbrella probably knows what we've done, they won't let us go." Something about his words struck her as truth. The hospital was one thing, but how far would they go with this?

X

Keeping his rifle above his head, Mark was about halfway through the swamp. At least it was some form of assurance that a majority of the zoo's population had escaped days previous. David was someway behind him. Dirty water assaulted his face every other moment. As annoying as this was, Mark kept reminding himself how much was at stake and kept going.

Out of the corner of his trained eyes, the watered rippled. Mark stopped. David did the same. The idea came suddenly came to Mark's tired mind that the animals hadn't left their habitat. He waved to a section of a section of bridge and climbed up. David joined him and they both climbed the most elevated point.

"They're out there." Mark looked around. The poor lighting made it difficult, but he could hear them moving. Mark wondered just how effective his rifle would be against such a creature. David examined his revolver to make sure it still fired; it would be more effective. Mark turned on the flashlight on the rifle and shined it across the surface of the water.

Several feet out, one emerged from the water. It simply floated on the surface, staring at them. It didn't seem to have mutated horrifically, but it was noticeable large, though not so much as the one they'd seen in the sewer.

David took careful aim with his revolver, lining up the sight with the creatures beady black eyes. He pulled the trigger and the powerful bullet flew from the barrel. It entered the soft flesh around it's eyes and went through, coming out through the back of it's head. It roared in fury and then rolled over. Blood pooled into the swamp; the monster was dead.

Suddenly, their wobbly island shook and nearly collapsed. They looked back to see another crocodile had rammed it, nearly plunging them into the water. Another was visibly circling them. David pulled the hammer back on his revolver. Taking careful aim, he shot for the one circling them.

"Damn." He swore when he missed and the monster dived. He took aim for the other one, following the water ripples. Before he could fire, the crocodile that had dived suddenly launched itself onto the platform. The two men just barely dodged being crushed in its jaws. Under the combined weight, the section of bridge collapsed, plunging all of them back into the water.

X

Jim fidgeted uncomfortably. George and Lloyd, the only two awake, didn't seem to notice. Either that or they realized Jim was only doing this so someone would talk to him. He bit his lip nervously. After calming down, he had time to think and realized there was no promise the army would reach them, they might shoot them for all they knew! Plus the whole Umbrella thing...

Mark and David had been gone for at least an hour, or was that his imagination? When they got back he'd apologize and beg for them to let him go with them. He hadn't mean to freak out, but a zombie elephant? Come one! Next they'd be fighting giants with machine guns. He shook his head. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did he get all the bad luck? Outside, the elephant rumbled by, not slowing down in the slightest.

"Should've know something was wrong, Oscar was acting weird for weeks." Lloyd commented after the thundering stopped.

"Weird in what way?" George questioned.

"He always got excited at feeding time, broke part of his change and nearly crushed two of his handlers. Only calmed down when we played the parade music, and even then he nearly killed someone. Guess putting him down would've have done some good huh?"

"All this death is needless, surely there is a cure for these people?" George wondered.

"How the hell do you cure someone when half their face is hanging off?" Jim asked. George shook his head.

"Prevent it I mean, there must be someway to stop this disease before it takes someone over."

"Good luck with that cure." Lloyd said skeptically. "I think you should be worried about your friends, sounds like Oscar is about to eat them. Jim felt another strike of guilt and regret.

X

Mark's assault rifle sunk to the bottom of the swamp. Deciding to cut his losses and escape with his life, the security guard swam under the crocodile that was now between him and David and made a hurried swim for the shore. David, who was still beside the hostile creature, reached into his tool belt. He pulled out a screwdriver and rather viciously stabbed it into the monster's eye. While it thrashed about, David also swam to the shore.

Mark climbed onto the bank and turned to see that David was keeping up. But the other crocodile was fast approaching. Mark pulled his handgun out to fire, only to realize in horror the submersion had caused it to jam. He desperately waved for David to hurry up. Mark noticed another medal to his right. He quickly grabbed it and waved to David, hoping it would encourage the man to swim faster. Behind him, the gate opened. Mark spun around and came face to face with the barrel of a rifle.

"Move!" It's wielder ordered. Mark complied. The man fired at the crocodile that was just feet behind David. The high caliber round pierced whatever natural protection it had and blew the crocodiles head apart. Mark helped David out of the water.

"Thank you so much." Mark panted. The man was looking him up and down.

"You don't look like the Army." He commented.

"Many years ago." Mark extended his hand. "I'm Mark Wilkins."

"Austin Taylor." He shook it.

"That's David." Mark introduced his silent companion.

"Right, now come on, I know a safer place. He turned back through the gate onto another path. To the left was a wooden staircase marked with a "Employees only" sign. He led them up it. From up here, Mark was able to see the decapitated body of a female lion lying on the path. The balcony offered a great view of the zoo, and Mark could even see the destroyed office. Austin unlocked the door into the watchtower and walked in. "Beer?" He motioned to a half drunken six-pack lying on a table while he took a seat.

Mark declined and David went ahead and gabbed one. "We're trying to get out of the zoo, there's a evacuation helicopter just on the other side of the front entrance." Mark explained their mission. Austin opened a can and took a drink.

"So Lloyd is still alive? Not surprising. Still hard to believe a bunch of civilians could escape Oscar." He took another sip.

"We have our own skills, teamwork is what wins the day." Mark had deliberately left out the part about the team splitting up.

"Yeah, I guess that can explain it. Still, Oscar didn't even budge when I shot him, hard to believe a caveman weapon got him." Austin patted his hunting rifle. "Listen, I know you all want out of here, and that's dandy, but I'm fine waiting. It's not like you'll make it through the front gate anyway." He shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Mark demanded.

"Last time I saw one of our guys even stepped near that gate, Max and his lady friends tore him limb from limb and ate him." Austin smirked. "If you want to be cat food, go right ahead." He picked something up from the table and tossed it to them; another medal. He contemplated for a moment, and then tossed his hunting rifle at David. He also tossed a bag at him. "My Mauser rifle and eighteen rounds- can put a whole concrete. Give it a shot." He took another sip of beer.

"You're giving us your gun?" Mark asked in surprise. Austin shrugged.

"You can put it to better use. I'll probably just get it off your corpse later anyway. Just keep following the path and it'll lead you back to the office. Break a leg."

X

What the fuck was he doing? Seriously, what the fuck? Jim nervously shuffled along the concrete, conscious of even the tiniest sound. What was he doing? Hell if he knew. For whatever reasons, he had let the guilt get to him. While the others had fallen asleep, Jim had exited the building. He hadn't intended to stray so far from the office, he was just going to wait on the steps for Mark and David to return.

But now he found himself gradually edging along to where they had entered the zoo. If the slightest sign of danger appeared, he run back faster then you could say 'gone'. He arrived back at the point where they'd first run into that fucking elephant. Jim noticed the path they hadn't run to. A bridge ahead for blocked off, but to the right was a employee path.

Cautiously he took a few steps forward. He trembled violently as a sound of hurried scrabbling and panting came from behind him. He turned around. Running full speed at it, a large Hyena was fast approaching, it's tongue lolling. Jim screamed and brought his handgun up to fire. He fired off a good eight shots, but due in part to his shaking hands and the creatures extreme nimbleness, they all missed. Closer and closer it got. Finally, when he only had three bullets left, one managed to strike it's head. It went limp and it's body tumbled over and over before stopping at Jim's feet.

Leg's still shaking; Jim still managed to laugh at the way its face was stuck in what could be interpreted as a goofy grin. From somewhere behind him came a low growl. Startled, Jim spun around. Staring at him from the dark was an infected lion. Its skin was horribly flayed and its left eye was gouged out. It crouched into a hunter's position.

Next thing Jim knew, he was running as fast as his skinny legs would carry him back towards the office, cursing his shitty luck. Though the lion's decayed legs slowed it down, it was no doubt catching up to Jim. He ran faster, rounding a corner of the office building. Just another stretch and he was in the office. The feral however, was right on his heels. Jim ran faster, praying frantically that he could outrun it. He looked behind him. The lion pounced. Jim screamed, a single thundering gunshot rang in the air.

The lion slammed into Jim and knocked his breath away before pinning him to the ground. He screamed and thrashed around, waiting for the inevitable bite from its sharp teeth. But it didn't come. Jim opened his eyes, the lion was not moving. Someone was calling his name. Jim was so scared that he could barely push the heavy corpse off it. David and Mark ran up. The rifle in David's hand was still smoking in the cold night air.

"What the hell are you doing out here alone soldier?" Mark demanded, helping Jim up. "Where are the others? Is anyone dead?" He demanded. Jim shook his head.

"I-I-I went looking for you guys." He stuttered. It took him a moment to remember why he was out there. "Listen, I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how fucking scary that thing is?!" Mark nodded in understanding.

"Back in Nam' some went through their entire tour and never stopped being afraid." He remembered. David didn't say anything; he still didn't view Jim positively. "C'mon, let's get back to the office, he got quite a few medals."

X

The sound of the door opening made George and Lloyd jump. Mark and David, both soaked, entered the room. George was relieved to see Jim stumble in behind them. While the doctor hadn't meant to nod off, it had been far too many hours since they last slept. Alyssa also woke up at the sound. She leaned forward and shook Yoko. She yawned and looked up blinking. Her eyes brightened when she saw them.

"Your back!" She exclaimed happily.

"We said we would be." David replied. Mark took out all the medals they had collected and put them on the table.

"Is that Austin's rifle?" Lloyd asked in interest.

"Yeah, he's fine, hold up in the watch tower." Mark explained. "Gave us the rifle to try and escape." Lloyd shook his head.

"Good luck with that."

"You people aren't very happy." Alyssa commented.

"We've been stuck here for days." He responded dryly.

"You should come with us." Mark suggested. But Lloyd again shot down the offer. Mark didn't press him further. He went into the back office and popped another medal in. The digital display changed the zero and flashed. A large humming began and all the lights suddenly came on. The display now showed three. Mark put the other two in.

"You're missing one?" Alyssa inquired from the doorway. Yoko was looking anxiously over her shoulder.

"We can get the last now that the power is on." Mark walked past her. "They still ain't up?" Mark looked at Kevin and Cindy.

"Their vitals are normal, they're both just unconscious." George explained. Mark nodded.

"Might be trouble when we have to move out." He said thoughtfully. "But we still got to get the plate from the storage area and that last medal. Hopefully that is enough time for them to wake up."

"Unlikely." George responded. Mark sighed.

"One at a time, we'll go look for that plate and get the medal first." He and David went back towards the door. Jim got up and followed.

"You're going too?" Alyssa asked skeptically.

"Yeah." Jim said. Alyssa made a sarcastic sound.

"See you all in a few." Mark said.

"Hey, hold up!" Alyssa stopped him. "I'm going with."

"No offense, but you'd impair our mobility." Mark looked at her bandaged leg.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, I at least owe this to you. I'll just follow you anyway." She added. Mark sighed in defeat, though he almost seemed to smile.

"Ok, but any larger a group and we risk attracting attention, now let's go."

X

"…Thanks." Alyssa said grudgingly as David helped her into the control room. Back at the elephant stage, they were determined to try and trap Titan. Power had been restored to the panel.

"I really hope this works." Jim said weakly. He didn't like the idea of being this close to that thing again.

"Even if it doesn't hold, it'll still buy us time." David pointed out, though he was sure such heavy metal could hold the elephant. Mark was busy at the now working control panel. He had found the button to close the gate, but now they had to wait for Titan.

"Can't we lure it here somehow?" Alyssa asked.

"I have no idea what would attract it." Mark said, staring out the window into the zoo. He looked around the room while he tried to think of something that would attract the gargantuan beast.

"The parade tape?" Jim pointed to the sound controls. "That guy at the office said the elephant liked the music."

"He did…but will it attract him?" Alyssa asked. "Can zombies still hear?"

"Only one way to know." David replied, pushing back Jim as he stepped up to the panel. He pressed the button. Immediately, cheery carnival music began blaring from the stage speakers, sounding unnatural in the night.

They waited in a eager silence. Over the sound of music, the gradual thundering came back. Titan appeared, eagerly bounding in their direction. He ran into the stage and stopped, looking around. Now that the lights were shining on the stage, they could see the damage they'd done earlier. Titan's face was covered in blood and his left eye was no longer open.

Mark hit the button. The gates shuddered and started sliding shut. The body on top slid off, luckily outside of the stage. Titan spun around. Any good feelings disappeared and the elephant immediately became aggressive again. Bellowing, he charged full speed into the gate. They all watched anxiously. The gate shuddered violently and Titan stumbled back. It had held, and the elephant was dazed.

"Ok, move, move!" Mark ordered. They all went through the side door and down the stairs. They went through another door and were outside the stage gate. It shook violently and Titan bellowed again. The body was awkwardly sprawled on the ground; the medal lying just a few inches from it's hand. They all stopped just before the gate- the elephant would be able to see them pass.

"Get ready to run." Mark put his hand up. As Titan started to move back, no doubt to try to knock down the gate again, Mark gave the signal. Jim started running full fledge, taking a moment only to flip the enraged animal off as he retreated, and David hurriedly carried Alyssa off. Mark ran up and grabbed the medal. Titan stuck his trunk through the gap in the gate and nearly knocked Mark over. He ducked and followed the others off. Left behind, Titan lifted his trunk and his enraged trumpet echoed throughout the night.

X

George looked at the battery run clock hanging on the wall. The helicopter they were hoping to catch would be coming back in only twenty minutes. He hoped the others would hurry. From outside, the elephant bellowed loudly, the sound carrying across the zoo.

"I'll give you guys credit, you're not as weak as I thought." Lloyd listened to the angry sound.

"We're just lucky." Yoko admitted shyly. Cindy groaned suddenly from the table. George jumped up and immediately went over to her. She groaned again and her eyes fluttered open.

"Don't move, you're in a safe place." George assured.

"What happened?" She asked weakly.

"You were attacked, but the others saved you."

"Kevin! Where's Kevin?!" She sat up. At once her vision darkened and she nearly passed out again.

"Please remain still! He's right beside you." George said as he laid her head down again. She turned her head and gasped. "He's okay." George said quickly. "Just hasn't woke up yet. I think you also have a fractured arm." He gently moved her sleeve up and looked at the discoloration.

"Where are the others?" She asked.

"Trying to find a way for us to escape. They'll be back." Yoko told her.

X

"Man, something attacked me here." Jim trembled slightly. They were back where the Hyena had attacked him and the lion appeared.

"Your welcome to go back to the office." Alyssa said pointedly.

"No way, I ain't running away again."

"Just be prepared to stand to your word." David said coldly. Guns drawn, they approached the storage building where the plate was supposed to be. Mark pushed the door open and stepped inside. A few light bulbs above cast weak light over the mountain of cages stacked around.

"Stick together and keep a eye open." Mark said. The moved through the building, looking everywhere for anything resembling a plate. David had to shine his flashlight on some places. Jim was the first to notice it.

"Hey, I see it!" He pointed excitedly to the top of a stack of cages.

"Why is it up there?" Alyssa asked.

"Who the fuck cares? Give me a lift and I'll get it!" Mark and David each grabbed one of Jim's feet and lifted him up. Jim gripped the edge of a cage and hauled himself up. The stack wobbled dangerously. Jim froze and clung on for dear life. It stopped. Shaking slightly, he hauled himself to the top and gratefully grabbed the plate.

A large shadow suddenly appeared over his hand and the plate. Jim looked up, and came face to face with another lion. It roared in his face. Jim screamed and tumbled off the stack. Luckily, they managed to catch him. The lion roared down at them. As David lifted his rifle to fire, the building suddenly shook violently. The lights went around and stacks of cages began falling. Titan bellowed angrily outside.

"He escaped already?!" Alyssa's voice echoed throughout the building. Titan shouldn't had been able to escape! Not at least without causing injury to itself. But he was right outside, trapping them in here. Somewhere in the darkness, the lion growled again.


	25. Wild Things III

"Give me the flashlight." Mark ordered. He took it and aimed with his handgun, trying to find the creature. David kept the sight on the rifle following the flashlight. It was moving out there, just like an elusive VC sniper. Titan rammed the building again, this time causing sections of the roof to collapse. Jim screamed and could be heard scrambling to get out of the way.

"Get your hand off my tits!" Alyssa growled. Mark ignored them and paid close attention to the holes in the roof, which let a little more light into the dark building. He scanned the area for the outline of the lion. He couldn't find it. The lion growled again, and a stack of cages toppled over. It was stalking them, savoring the sense of fear rolling off of them like waves. The flashlight found a door on the opposite side of the building up a set of stairs.

"That way, move quickly." Mark ordered. They edged their way around the wall to the steel steps. With another thunderous ram, part of the whole front came crashing down, throwing up smoke and dust. There was a sickening sound as the falling concrete crushed the lion. Titan's face was heavily dented and bleeding profusely, no doubt from brutally ramming itself out of the elephant stage.

David took aim and landed a shot between the injured monster's eyes. The bullet exploded on impact, doing much damage. Titan stumbled back. David fired three more shots at the monster while the others quickly retreated through the door. "C'mon!" Mark called. David fired one last round at the elephant's decayed leg before following the others out the door and down a ladder.

"Where are we?" Alyssa asked while David loaded 2 of his 11 remaining shots into the rifle. They were in a techincian's box overlooking a stage. The zoo had held a show here at one point, perhaps for children.

"Don't know, but keep moving." Mark ordered. They all slid down the ladder and into the viewing area. They froze where something was knocked over in the darkness on the stage. Carefully, Mark aimed the flashlight that way- right over the decayed face of another lion. It opened its mouth and roared at the, only for David to fire directly into it. As the dead animal collapsed onto the stage, Jim found a door behind them.

"That's the main gate up ahead." Alyssa realized. They were in the main area of the zoo. But all the shops and vendor stalls were closed and gated, and a silence had fallen over the area. Several dead bodies were scattered in the darkness, all horribly mauled. Jim made a retching sound.

"The statues." Mark grunted. Two lion statues were on either side of the center walkway. During the day, when throngs of people would walk between the two statues on their way to look at other animals, the lions normally looked straight ahead at each other. Now they each looked to their left, away from each other.

On the base of the statues, a empty indention was where a plate with the zoo's emblem usually was. Mark had to struggle to remember which was for the blue plate they had in their possession. Slightly frustrated, Alyssa simply snatched it out of his hand and tried it in each statue, getting it right the second time.

They waited, expecting at least something little, but nothing happed. "We need both." David stated.

"Right." Mark nodded, feeling for the medal in pocket. "Let's go back to the office and get the plate and the others. That evac will be here soon, so let's hurry."

X

"It may not be proper, but it should suffice." George said. Using most of the remaining bandages they had, they had made a sling for Cindy's arm. George still wasn't sure about the extent of the injury, but she wouldn't be able to use her left arm for at least a few weeks.

"Thank you." Cindy smiled. Despite all that was wrong and all that had happened, she still refused to let her spirit falter.

"How do you think the others are doing?" Yoko asked anxiously.

"I'm sure they're fine." Cindy said.

"Mark seems to be a good enough leader." George agreed.

"He leads it like a military unit." Lloyd commented. "Don't know how you put up with it.

"We haven't actually been with his group much since this began." Cindy admitted. Confusion flashed in Lloyd's eyes for a moment, but it was clear he didn't much care for the story.

"Hey George?" Yoko asked anxiously.

"Yes?"

"How bad will Kevin be when he wakes up?"

"It's hard to say." George sighed. "He most certainly shouldn't be able to walk. Yoko looked sorrowfully at the cop on the table.

"Then I'll help him." She said firmly. Cindy and George smiled. There was a click as the door opened. The others re-entered the room, happiness plastered on their face and sweat coating their clothes despite the chill. Mark held up a medal.

"Last one, and we already put in the blue plate." There was applause. "You're awake." He observed Cindy. She nodded.

"Not bad." Lloyd commented. They all followed Mark into the private office. He slid the medal in and the digital number switched to 0. There was a click and a painting on the wall slid up, revealing a hidden safe with a red plate in it.

"This city has weird security measures." Alyssa commented. Mark grabbed the plate.

"Sure you want to stay?" He asked Lloyd.

"Yeah." He paused for a moment. "But I wish you guys good luck." He nodded.

"You're crazy staying in a place like this." Jim told him. Lloyd shrugged.

"Ok, the front gate is just a short walk from here, from there we run. The evac will be there any minute." Mark laid out the plan. "According to intel, there's still a lion or two running around." He nodded to David, who held up the rifle. "But the threat is minimal. "Everyone check their weapons, we might need them."

Outside, they heard Titan's cry echoing through the air. Everyone paused and looked up. There was something…odd about it that they couldn't quite place. Even Lloyd looked puzzled. Mark got them back on task- it was probably better that they didn't know.

"Got him?" Mark asked. George and Yoko nodded. Kevin was still unconscious, and would have to be carried. But there was no other alternative. Wishing a final fare well to Lloyd, they all left the office.

"There's a small hole in the wall in a passage over here." Mark explained. "It leads to the front gate, we already put one of the plates in." As they walked along the path, avoiding the large pool of Titan's blood staining the concrete, George noticed something.

"Your gun." He picked up the Beretta and handed it to her. Cindy took it awkwardly with one hand. How she would be able to reload the weapon now was a mystery. Still, some protection was needed. As they took a few more cautious steps forward, the ground shook slightly, punctuated by a echoing thump.

"Shit!" Jim screamed. Everyone tensed up.

"Hold on!" Mark raised a hand before anyone could flee. "Stand your ground!" The veteran cocked his head sideways to listen. "Something ain't right here…" The thundering of Titan's feet were no longer one following another in a stampeding charge, but rather slow and far in between. Around the corner, Titan appeared.

"No…" Cindy whispered and covered her mouth. Other members of the group either gasped or cursed softly. The elephant stumbled towards them.

"Did you do that?" Jim asked David. The plumber quickly shook his head. Titan was a mess. Apart from the earlier head injuries, large chunks of its flesh were missing, primarily from its front and back legs. Something had severely injured the monster, and it wasn't them. Putting strong effort into it, Titan reared back onto its legs and bellowed. David raised the rifle and fired.

The round hit it right by the other eye. The beast cried out in pain and stumbled. It swayed on its feet. Then, with a low whine, it toppled over on its side. The ground shook as it landed. The beast seemed no more a titanic monster, but now a frail victim. Titans breathing came in short, rapid sounds and his truck moved weakly. His one good eye scanned over them with no hostile attempts.

"We- we should put him out of the suffering." Cindy said sadly. Mark nodded.

"Right." He said somberly. "David?" The plumber took aim, careful to make sure that it would only take one shot. He pulled the trigger once. Titan went still completely. Despite time being short for them, they all stood in silence for a few. The silence was shattered as Lloyd appeared in one of the destroyed sections of wall, clapping.

"I don't believe it! Nice!" He applauded. The group did not seem to hear him. As they passed the watchtower, Austin appeared clapping as well.

"Hell of a job!" He called.

"Who's that?" Yoko asked.

"He gave us the rifle." David responded. They crawled through the hole in the wall Mark's party had found earlier. Each of them stopped in shock as soon as they stood up.

"What the hell happened here?" Mark took a cautious step forward. Some of the walls and shops had been knocked down, though mercifully not the statues. Large patches of blood were staining the ground.

"Do you think whatever got Oscar…was here?" Cindy asked. She subconsciously stepped closer to the others.

"If it is, no point sticking around." Mark went over and slid the red plate into the other statue. The two statues turned to where they were facing each other, and the large, metal front gate slowly slid up.

"Who the hell came up with these ideas?" Jim wondered. No one answered, and instead gratefully filed out of the zoo.

"It's sad." Yoko commented as they walked through the ticket admission.

"Oscar didn't mean to hurt anyone, he was a victim, just like everyone else." Cindy agreed.

"Hey, I know some people with connections to animal's rights group, I'll pass this on when we escape." For once Alyssa was nice to the other blond. They stepped out onto the empty street, shivering as a strong gust of wind blew past them. Directly across the street was a tram station. Miraculously, a tram was parked there.

"God is watching over us." Mark said. They all made their way over there.

"I hope Kevin wakes up soon." Yoko grunted. The cop was a lot heavier then he looked. Suddenly, something crashed down in front of them and spun around. It was a male lion, its mane streak with the blood of its prey and its skin decayed and damaged from previous battles. It roared defiantly at them, a gleam of sheer bloodlust in his eyes.

"Max!" Cindy yelled in shock. Without further hesitation, the lion pounced at the tight-nit group. They all just managed to avoid being gutted by his sharp claws.

"Get him into the tram!" Mark order to George and Yoko while he took aim. The lion darted to the side with amazing speed, dodging a round from David's rifle. It quickly circled around them and leaped on top of the tram station, staring down at them. David was attempting to reload his rifle.

"How the fuck do we hit that thing?!" Jim asked. "It's too fast!"

"Don't all aim at once, and stay on your toes!" Mark called. Max pounced from the roof and came crashing down where David and Alyssa had been just seconds ago. He spun around and lashed out with a claw. David fired and the round detonated on the creature's side. While David attempted to pull the bolt back, the creature changed targets and charged at Cindy, who had been standing by the tram door.

She scrambled back behind one of the steel support beams and the claws barely missed her face. While her accuracy was hindered to a one-hand grip, she still managed to land a few shots in the creatures face. It was not fazed however, and quickly turned to charge at Alyssa again. David dragged her out of the way and she fired two shots into the lions face. David swore as another round missed the lion's speedy reflexes. Stalker jumped back onto the roof, seemingly taunting them while David reloaded 2 of his remaining 5 rounds into the rifle.

"Get down her and fight!" Alyssa taunted as she hobbled a little to the right. With any luck she could coax the savage animal away so that David could get a shot. The trap worked, and the lion pounced down at her. She managed to back step out of the way, only to stumble and fall down. Max towered over her threateningly.

Another high explosive shot from David's rifle made contact with the side of the creature's head. Like Oscar though, the creature shook it off. It must've hurt though, as the lion changed targets, this time towards Mark. A gun discharged and a bullet hit the lion square in the face. It stopped and roared with fury.

"Started the party without me?" Kevin said in mock hurt. He was slouched painfully over the railing with George and Yoko supporting him, but his eyes still showed that wild glee.

"Kevin!" Cindy yelled to him. He took aim with his .45 and fired again. The lion again dodged. By the looks of it, they were trying to drag the cop back into the tram. He blatantly refused. Injured and seemingly very pissed, the lion roared into the night and brought its head down again.

With lighting speed, it charged at David. The rifle missed, and the small arms fire from the others could not deter the beast. It pounced on David as he reloaded and knocked him to the ground, it's sharp claws dug into his torso. As it prepared for the killing bite, David shoved the rifle into the lion's mouth, stopping it. He took one of the powerful Mauser round and loaded into the gun as Max made every effort to bite the rifle in half. David pulled the trigger.

The top of Max's head exploded, sending blood and brain high up into the air. The lion slumped down on David, the weight nearly crushing him. It took the combined efforts of Mark and Jim to pull it off. Mark extended a hand to pull David back up. Blood was beginning to stain his plumbers uniform, but it wasn't of immediate concern.

"Into the tram! Hut two!" Mark called. They all quickly bundled in before any more surprises confronted them. As they did, David left the rifle and remaining ammo propped against the railing, should it's owner come to want it back.

"I got this." Jim said confidently, starting the tram. It whined and began moving. They would be at the helicopter pick up zone in minutes.

"That was very reckless." George scolded. Blood was coming from Kevin's mouth again, but he seemed as cocky and energetic as ever.

"What was I gonna do? Let you guys save the day yourselves?" He replied. He winced in pain.

"You shouldn't be up and about." George said firmly.

"No use causing further injury to yourself, think of others." Mark said. "Nice to have you back though." He added.

"Isn't working while injured how you get medals old man?" Kevin asked.

"One of the ways." Mark said, clearly insulted.

"Thanks for trying to save me." Cindy said.

"No sweat!" Kevin waved it off with a grin. "I do it all the time."

"You're a reckless ass." Alyssa said playfully.

"We all made it through even in the darkest times, that's what matters." Mark said. Things had looked bleak, but they had all come through alive and still together.

"That's a bad wound, do you want me to look at it?" Cindy asked David. So far the older man had been seemingly unaffected by it. He looked skeptically at her immobile arm. But regardless shrugged off the leather jacket and unzipped the plumbers uniform, revealing eight large puncture wounds on his otherwise buff chest. "Yoko, can you hand me whatever bandages we have left?" Cindy asked. While she began to wrap the wounds, Kevin noticed something.

"Is that a knife scar?" Kevin tone was slightly accusing as the pointed at a mark just above David's heart. David did not answer. Outside the roaring of helicopter blades were heard. But the sound grew closer and closer, much too close.

"What's happening?" Yoko asked. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and the tram shook violently, causing everyone to fall off his or her seat. Glass blew inward, forcing them all to keep their heads down.

"What the hell was that?" Alyssa shouted as the tram came to a screeching halt. Outside suddenly became a light orange, and the sound of crackling fire began. What sounded like a low hydraulic whine stopped suddenly.

"No…No…This can't be!" Cindy stood up.

"Stay here!" Mark ordered and went outside. Almost immediately, his senses were assaulted by the unbearable stench of burning flesh. He gagged. Venturing forward ever so slightly, he could see a tram yard. A Chinook helicopter was burning in a crater amidst a pile of dead and burning bodies, all refugees that had been waiting just moments ago.

The others came out behind him. Jim stared at the crashed helicopter. Slowly, very slowly, he walked forward and sunk to his knees. He threw his hat down and grabbed his hair and screamed into the air. He began crying and banging his fist on the ground, much like a child. Behind him, the others were unable to say anything.

X A/N X

I might be switching the rating up to 'M' on account of the language and the violence. So unless you're following the story or have it saved, make sure to change the search preference when looking.

Man, I'm just now realizing how short this story is even if it took over a year to write. All we have left is Hellfire, Decisions Decisions, and End of the Road. Still, that's over a fair 13 more chapters, so there is still a ways to go.


	26. Chapter 26

XX A/N XX

Internet has been out for a while, so I didn't have a opportunity to work on this project.

September 29th, 6:24 P.M

Defeat hung in the crowded air of the small apartment. Discouraged by last night's failure, the defeated team had dragged themselves into a small, ratty apartment and had so far stayed there for at least a day. Most of them were inside the apartment, sleeping wherever there was room.

Due to his injury, Kevin had been able to get a bed to sleep in. The cop seemed to be in a lot of pain, but was determined not to stay down. Much to George and Cindy's disapproval, he insisted all he needed were some painkillers. Cindy was managing just fine with only her right arm in use. But the injury to their morale was the worst any of them suffered.

They had worked hard to escape, they had cheated death, watch others die, and right when it seemed to be coming to them, it was snatched away. Most of them were ready to accept escape was impossible. But due in part to Cindy's caring and encouraging smile and Kevin's charismatic talking, their small light of hope and determination had been whipped into a roaring fire. The problem was how?

They were currently in the uptown district. The mountains were out of the question, but there were only four highways out of the city. Surely that was the key. They would all move when day broke tomorrow. While the others slept, Mark sat in an old armchair and stared out of the window into the burning city.

The defeat had hit him hardest of all. Being denied the opportunity to reunite with his wife and son had been far more depressing to the old security guard then the others realized. Mark had spent much of the day watching for helicopters, but none came. It was as if the army had given up of evacuations. Though Mark had noted how some of the fires in the city seemed to have burned themselves out.

Somewhere out there his wife and son were still weeping for him. Sighing, the security guard got up and stretched. He was really too old to be doing stuff like this. He walked over to the door and unlocked it before stepping into the 3F passageway, making sure to lock the door behind him.

David sat at the top of stairs, a cigarette in his mouth and a bloody iron pipe in his right hand. At the bottom of the stairs were the beaten corpses of zombies dumb enough to approach. A shortage and bandages made his treatment mediocre at best, but he still didn't seem to acknowledge its existence. He looked up as Mark walked over and sat down beside him.

"At least this is a low activity zone." Mark commented staring at the corpses. There seemed to be fewer zombies on the streets now.

"Hmph." David shrugged. "They've probably all been slaughtered by now." He pointed out.

"Possibly, I have doubts the Army is any better trained for this then the police were." Mark confessed. He pulled out his Beretta and examined it. "I'm going to go have a look around, stretch my legs a little." He stood up when he found no faults with Bob's gun. Without a word, David got up and followed him.

X

"I don't see how those things could've done so much damage." Mark commented at the carnage on the street. How could the city already be this destroyed?

"Those flesh sacks aren't the only things running around." David looked around. They kept walking. They'd walked at least three blocks; they would have to fall back to the safe house soon.

"True." Mark sighed. "We're still behind enemy lines and our only evac got shot down. So what now?"

"Keep fighting till we're done in." David looked at his revolver, which had run out of rounds earlier that day during the fighting towards the apartment. It wasn't a common gun, so he doubted he'd find more ammunition. Finding no use, he simply tossed it into a sewer gate they passed.

"What is there to fight for then?" Mark stared up into the darkening sky. "So far we've all fought to survive and get out, but so far we haven't gained any ground. You saw, no one has hope anymore." David could say nothing.

Fighting for survival was what he had always done, but that was losing its point as escape seemed impossible. Up ahead smoke could be seen high in the air, probably from one of the various cars or buildings burning.

"Police are gone, the hospital is destroyed, and the fire department probably got wiped out too." Mark said. They stopped at a corner. "We should probably head back." Mark murmured. He looked both ways down the intersection. He stopped and stared down the street towards where the smoke was rising. A large, flaming truck was tipped over. But in front of it was something else.

A large, flatbed Humvee with a gun mounted in the back was crashed into a parked sedan, smoke billowed from the engine. Bodies laid strewn around it, but they were different. They appeared to be heavily laden with protective clothing. The Army? They wondered.

They cautiously approached the area, wincing under the intense heat from the burning truck. The bodies were indeed soldiers, but they certainly weren't army. Their equipment seemed more fit to mercenaries, and the machine gun on the truck was a old soviet model. A umbrella was on the back of their vests, crisscrossed with swords. The initials U.B.C.S were posted across. What did that stand for? "Umbrella?" Mark wondered. He became shocked as the idea came to him. What if Umbrella had a private military? Someone to clean up their messes and take out witnesses. The helicopter at the zoo…

"That damn company." Mark muttered angrily. "They did this and now they're trying to erase the evidence!" How could someone be this evil?

"They got a lot of equipment." David mused, looking at their load out. Each soldier had a bag on their back and a vest full of ammo. Each of them carried modified M4A1 rifles and they also had SIG pistols in their holsters. Mark noticed one carrying something different.

"Well I'll be damned…" He said in surprise. He picked up the M79 Grenade launcher from the soldier's hands. These had been pretty common in Vietnam, one he'd used many times. He was amazed someone still used these. In a way, it wasn't surprising; Umbrella was a multi-billion dollar company. Money could buy many things.

"There's a lot of hardware here, enough to take down a whole NVA company." Mark mused. "We'll take what we can, do you think it is possible to get the truck working again?" He asked David. A vehicle would be invaluable, since most other modes of transport had been robbed of gas. David nodded and went to check the engine.

Mark grabbed one of the mercenary's bags and checked it. Food, water, papers, and other survival equipment were there. Mark grabbed the papers and read them. It was a set of orders, orders to help rescue civilians and assist the police…

"They were sent to help us…" Mark said out loud. David looked up.

"Looks like they failed." He commented flatly. Mark looked in the bag and took out a small book- a journal. He flipped through it, stopping on the last page. Hurried and sloppy writing indicated that the owner had struggled to write this.

_"The whole operation is fucked. Umbrella never intended for us to come out alive. Matthew abandoned us, and we're almost out of gas." _The next few noted were illegible_. "We had to abandon those civilians, their pleading cries for us not to leave them will haunt me forever. I wish I'd never taken this job, I should've taken the court marshal."_

The entry ended.

"They were victims, just like us…" Mark looked at the bodies. They weren't bad guys; they were soldiers, soldiers who had been carelessly discarded as pawns. Mark felt more anger.

"This thing isn't moving." David said in defeat, kicking it. Mark didn't show any sign of his frustration.

"It isn't necessary, grab all the equipment you can, we'll go back to the others and bring them here." He went for the grenade launcher and ammo belt. They both froze as a collection of groans reached their ears. They turned to see a horde of zombies lumbering from behind the flaming truck, at least six dozen. "I'd prefer if it ran, but I've never looked a gifted horse in the mouth and I sure won't start today." Mark climbed onto the bed of the truck and turned the machine gun towards the undead. David grabbed one of the M4s and pulled the bolt back. Without hesitation, the men fired.

X

The safe house had been picked for it's quiet and safe atmosphere. So it was perfectly understandable when the group nearly wet themselves when the door swung open with extreme force. Jim screamed and ran for the nearest room and Kevin drew his gun from the bed.

To their amazement, Mark and David came in, armed to the teeth. Mark had a grenade launcher slung at his side and a bandolier with plenty of rounds across his chest. A military backpack was slung over his shoulder and a military-grade assault rifle was in his hands. David also had a kit bag and a assault rifle. A small, lightweight plastic pistol was tucked into his tool belt.

"Where the hell did you get that stuff?" Kevin asked. He suddenly winced as the pain of his injuries caught up with him and he reached for a bottle of pain pills.

"It's a long story, but everyone get up and follow us, hope isn't lost." After rather hurried preparations, the rest of them followed Mark and David as they led them back to the slaughtered mercenary unit. The whole while Mark explained what they had found out. Mark gave Alyssa the journal and written orders, she'd have more luck getting their contents out to the public.

"They have their own military? They shot down the helicopter!" Jim jumped to conclusions.

"But…I thought it said they came to help us?" Cindy asked in confusion.

"Who knows? It's impossible to tell what's real anymore." Mark shook his head. They arrived at the sight of the fresh zombie massacre. Everyone began taking ammo and provisions from the bags of the deceased. Kevin grabbed the same get up as David while the others grabbed the ammo for handguns.

"Fancy foreign equipment." Alyssa remarked as she aimed down the sights of her new SIG pistol. It was lighter then her handgun, and used to same rounds. Yoko and Cindy also took the lighter models in place of the heavier Berettas.

"Umbrella is a pharmaceutical company, not weapons manufacturers." George looked at the bodies. "Why would they need a private military?" He frowned.

"To clean up the dirt." Alyssa began picking through the remaining bodies for more journals.

"You realize they might just deploy to get you if you try to publish any of this?" David said.

"Let em try." Alyssa shrugged it off.

"Don't be so optimistic." Mark warned. "These men were trained soldiers, same as me."

"These bastards have more connections then we know." Kevin agreed with the security guard for once.

"So what now?" Yoko asked quietly.

"We move forward." Mark said firmly.

"What!?" It's almost night!" Jim reminded him.

"But we can't hesitate to act." Mark told him. "Things were rough, we all almost gave up, but we've come to far to give up now."

"He's right." Cindy nodded. "We can't let those things stop us."

"I'm up for a fight, those things can't get me now!" Kevin said confidently. He held his assault rifle in front of him.

"You shouldn't be moving around!" George said for the umpteenth time, this time slightly annoyed it seemed.

"Nothing a couple of pain pills won't solve!" Kevin started walking. "What's the saying old man? Charge?"

"It's advance." Mark corrected him. "But your right, let's move!"

9:14 P.M.

"Bring it on!" Kevin taunted as he slammed another clip in the rifle and started spraying. More zombies fell at his feet. Alyssa and the cop had been the self-appointed rear guard as the group fought their way through the uptown district. With more weaponry in their hands, their will was restored.

"Clear!" Mark called as he took aim with the grenade launcher. Thump. The round detonated, blowing several zombies to shreds and clearing the way for the others.

"Doesn't this place look familiar?" Jim asked. Indeed, this area was familiar; it was right by J's Bar. "We're right back where we started!"

"Sometimes the safest route involves backtracking!" Mark called back.

"Yeah, so quit bitching!" Alyssa limped backwards and put another clip in her handgun. George, Cindy, and Yoko stayed at the center of the group while Mark and David took the front. They rounded another corner, gunning down more zombies. Only for the street to end in the form of the street completely collapsed, leaving a gap that only led into the sewers. They quickly looked for a alternate route.

"Into the alley!" Mark ordered. David took point and charged in while Mark turned with his grenade launcher to help Alyssa and Kevin.

"Hey, quit stealing my thunder!" Kevin said in mock frustration.

"Hardly a time to joke." Alyssa said dryly. "You boys got this?" They nodded and Alyssa went off the follow Cindy's group.

"Glad to have you back old man, even if your cranky."

"Your still a reckless boy." Mark retorted, though in a non-hostile tone. The two men seemed to becoming more able to stand each other. They fired one last volley before retreating down the alley. Bloody corpses were scattered here and there. Yoko waved at them from a civilian walkway. Zombies were converging from each end of the alley, so they started running. They all froze however, when they realized the alley only led to apartment back doors, most of them broken and infested with zombies.

"Shit!" Jim swore as the undead approached.

"Over there!" Yoko pointed to the left where a pair of double doors was.

"GO!" Kevin yelled while he took aim at the zombies coming from the apartments. They all rushed through them and into a back courtyard. Kevin followed and slammed the down. It was a small grass enclosing, surrounded by brick walls on all sides. A stone map was in front of them.

"This is the Apple Inn!" Cindy realized. There were only two doors in this small area; a body was slumped against one of them. Suddenly, they all ducked as a large explosion went off close by. Several of the windows shattered and they cowered as glass rained down on them. The other of the two doors exploded and was sent flying. The wall crumbled and a load of concrete collapsed in front of the double doors, trapping them inside. The smell of burning reached them and a bright orange glow came from the doorway. The dazed surviors were just standing up when,

"KEVIN!" Yoko grabbed the cop's arm and spun him around. Perched on one of the broken windows, a lickers tongue waved through the air as it was investigated the sound. It's head snapped to them as Yoko screamed. Aiming with one hand, Mark fired the grenade launcher. The round caused the licker to explode into a mess of blood and limbs. The group stood there in silence as the shock wore off.

David took one look at the collapsed concrete and shook his head. "Ain't getting back that way."

"What do we do?" Cindy looked around desperately. They could all see why- behind some of the upper windows, flames were starting to engulf the curtains. Whatever had just happened had caused fires in various parts of the inn. There was no way out.

"Looks like the only escape," Mark was the last one to stand up fully, "is through hell itself."


End file.
